The Raiders are bringing a wave of fresh faces into Thursday evening’s preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals, and that alone makes this one worth watching. Las Vegas has 91 players on its offseason roster, and 50 of them will be making their Silver and Black debuts. Add in the fact that the team has 56 players with two or fewer accrued seasons, including 28 rookies, and there’s no shortage of young talent to track.
With so much turnover and so many unknowns, the first exhibition game becomes less about the scoreboard and more about who starts to separate. A handful of players have already made noise in training camp, and this is their first chance to turn that practice buzz into something real.
Fernando Mendoza is the obvious headliner. The No. 1 overall pick’s debut has been circled from the moment the schedule was released, and he arrives with enough momentum from camp to give Raider Nation real reason for optimism in the quarterback battle with Kirk Cousins. A strong showing could even increase the pressure for Mendoza to get more first-team reps before joint practices with the Houston Texans next week, but Thursday is the first checkpoint.
In the secondary, Zeke Masses has quickly become one of the offseason’s biggest stories. The Round 5 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft has surged into the conversation as a possible Week 1 starter for Rob Leonard’s defense, and he’ll get his first game action rotating with the first-team unit. The Cal product has built his reputation on making plays on the ball, and now he has to show that the camp production carries over.
Malik Benson is another receiver who has turned heads. The Raiders have been searching for someone to emerge at wideout, and Benson has been mentioned more than any of the team’s other receivers this summer. The sixth-rounder out of Oregon has reportedly built a strong connection with Mendoza, and if that carries over to Thursday, he could start looking like more than just a promising camp name.
Tonka Hemingway enters the opener with some real buzz of his own. He closed the 2025 NFL season with flashes that suggested he had more to offer than his previous coaching staff realized, and he kept building on that throughout camp with the veteran group. Now listed as a starter, Hemingway has a chance to show that the excitement around him is justified.
Then there’s Jermod McCoy, who brings a different kind of intrigue. He hasn’t played in a football game in over a year and a half, but he is set to return on Thursday with no restrictions.
Even after being taken in Round 4, some viewed him as a gamble. For the Raiders and their fans, though, he could end up looking like a steal if the talent shows up right away.
And if it doesn’t, the long layoff gives him a built-in cushion.
In Other News...
Raiders Will See A Different Cardinals QB Situation Than Expected
The Raiders first preseason look at Arizona will come against a different quarterback setup than originally expected. Carson Beck, who left the Hall of Fame game with a rib injury, was able to practice during the week but will not play in Week 1 as the Cardinals take a cautious approach with their starter.
For Las Vegas, that means a different kind of evaluation point on Saturday, with Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis expected to handle the snaps in Becks absence. The injury is not considered serious, but it does shift the feel of the matchup and gives the Raiders a chance to see how Arizonas backup plan looks right out of the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Fernando Mendoza Just Gave Raiders Fans A Real Reason To Dream
Fernando Mendozas first NFL preseason action gave the Raiders a fresh glimpse of what the future could look like under center. He came in to relieve Kirk Cousins and handled the moment with poise, completing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards while showing a quick release and a solid command of Klint Kubiaks offense. Even with some pressure around him, Mendoza looked like a quarterback who belonged on the field and one who could grow into much more than a backup role.
The appeal for Raiders fans is obvious: there was enough there to imagine a longer runway, not just a solid debut. Mendoza took a sack and had to navigate a defense that made him work, but he still found a way to move the offense and finish with a touchdown, the sort of early sign that can fuel optimism in a franchise always looking for stability at the position. Under Kubiak, the Raiders have at least one young passer giving them a reason to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Rookies Face Their First Real Test Under Klint Kubiak
Klint Kubiak has spent training camp trying to make the Las Vegas Raiders standards unmistakable, and that approach is about to meet its first live examination in the preseason opener. He has repeatedly pushed the idea that practice has to look and feel like game day, with competitiveness, effort and a team-first attitude serving as the baseline for everyone in camp.
For the rookies and younger players, the first real test is likely to come in the areas that can decide roster spots quietly but decisively. Kubiak has already mapped out a structured plan for who will play and when, and he has singled out special teams as a place where newcomers can separate themselves as the Raiders start sorting out who can hold up when the intensity rises. [Read more 🡒]