Kirk Cousins has the job, but the Raiders still sound very much open to the idea that Fernando Mendoza could be the face of the position down the line.
That was the message coming out of Las Vegas this week when the team officially named Cousins its starting quarterback. It wasn’t exactly a shock.
New head coach Klint Kubiak had kept the door cracked, but the veteran was always the likeliest answer. Tom Brady’s well-known preference for letting rookie quarterbacks sit, learn and grow behind a seasoned starter had already pointed the Raiders in that direction.
Kubiak made it clear how much Brady is involved in the process.
“We lean on him for a lot of things,” Kubiak said during his Wednesday media availability, referring to the seven-time Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Fame quarterback. “Talk to him multiple times a week, and he’s been extremely helpful for roster building, for schematics, and for team building.
You name it, he’s been helpful with it. More than helpful and an extremely impressive resource.”
For Cousins, this is Year 15 in the league after the then-Washington Redskins took him in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Raiders are betting that his experience, along with his comfort in Kubiak’s system, gives him an edge neither Fernando Mendoza nor Aidan O’Connell can match right now.
That familiarity matters. Cousins already knows Kubiak, offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and offensive line coach Rick Dennison from their time together with the Minnesota Vikings from 2019 through 2021.
The coaches have changed since then, and Kubiak’s group appears to see that as a strength rather than a setback. Cousins gives them a quarterback who already speaks the same language.
For Mendoza, the setup is different. The 22-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft now gets to watch, absorb and study how Cousins handles the huddle, the sideline and the locker room.
It also breaks a recent trend for quarterbacks taken first overall. The last one to sit was Baker Mayfield in 2018, when the Browns opened with Tyrod Taylor for three games before turning to Mayfield in Week 4.
Kubiak said the point isn’t just to shield a rookie. It’s to build a room where competition raises everyone’s level.
“I think there’s so many examples both ways,” Kubiak said. “I think the most important thing with the quarterback room or any other position is to build competition within the room, and that makes players so much better, faster than coaching. When they have a guy in front of them that they can look up to and they can see how something’s done, that’s going to accelerate their growth.”
General manager John Spytek echoed that thinking a day earlier.
“Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love, Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels. Like you said, there’s success stories and failures in both ways,” Spytek said.
“We’re just trying to build the best team we can and play the guys that are most ready to play, and have a constant competition in every room, not just the quarterback room, but every room. The expectation always will be that the best person, the person that’s earned it, the person that can do their job for the team, will be the one that plays.”
That kind of environment is exactly why Mendoza’s time on the bench could still matter. He’ll get a front-row seat to the good, the bad and the ugly of being an NFL quarterback.
That includes the mistakes, not just the highlight throws. And for a young passer, seeing how a veteran responds to those moments can be just as valuable as watching the big plays.
The Raiders are already showing they’re willing to let Mendoza grow through mistakes, too.
That was on display in the preseason finale against the San Francisco 49ers, when Mendoza zipped a pass to Jalen Nailor. The throw split opinion. Rich Gannon said on the Fox broadcast that it was not a pass Mendoza should have attempted, while others argued Nailor should have come down with it because the ball hit both of his hands.
Kubiak stood by his quarterback the next day.
“I thought it was an excellent throw. He ripped it just like we asked him to, on time.
Yeah, it was a little bit high. Jalen’s got to make the play,” Kubiak said.
That backing matters. The Raiders have lived through too many quarterbacks who played too carefully, too hesitant to let it fly.
Mendoza’s willingness to attack windows is part of what makes him interesting, and the Raiders clearly don’t want that edge dulled. If they’re going to build something real here, they need that confidence protected, not coached out of him.
Still, the idea that Cousins will hold the job all season isn’t locked in stone.
Brady and the Raiders intend for him to start throughout 2026, but injuries or other circumstances could change the picture quickly. A possible inflection point could come against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7 at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Oct.
- That matchup now looms larger after the Rams officially announced the return of defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
The Rams’ front could bring a major test, with Donald, Myles Garrett, Kobie Turner and Byron Young all part of the pressure picture. Dennison has already done a strong job getting the Raiders’ offensive line to look very different from the 2025 version, but that’s still a lot to absorb up front.
If Cousins gets hit hard or goes down, the Raiders could turn to Mendoza or O’Connell. Cousins is sturdy enough, but he is also 38 years old and listed at a slender 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds.
Mendoza brings a different frame at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, and he won’t turn 23 until Oct. 1.
So yes, Cousins is QB1 for now. But in Las Vegas, Mendoza’s future is still very much in the conversation.
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