Klint Kubiak has a decision to make, but the Raiders already sound pretty settled on the biggest one. Kirk Cousins is expected to open the 2026 season as Las Vegas’ starter, and everything the team has said this offseason points in that direction.
That doesn’t mean the quarterback room is being treated like a one-man show. Far from it.
The Raiders have kept insisting that there’s real competition throughout the roster, and that feeling extends to the position that matters most. Cousins, Fernando Mendoza and Aidan O’Connell all remain in the mix for reps as Las Vegas heads into its second preseason game.
On Friday, Kubiak laid out the challenge of dividing those snaps against the Texans.
"We're going to put a plan together this week, and that's something that we're talking about as a coaching staff right now,” Kubiak said on Friday.
“But really, whether it's Aidan O'Connell, Kirk [Cousins], or Fernando [Mendoza], I would say all three of those guys deserve first-team reps. But we've got to go put a plan together on how we're going to split them."
That’s the balancing act for Las Vegas right now: keep developing Mendoza, keep evaluating O’Connell, and still make sure Cousins gets enough work to stay ready for the role the Raiders brought him in to play. The team signed Cousins to help get Kubiak’s tenure off on the right foot, and the move also gives Mendoza time to develop while the staff sees competition in his growth.
Kubiak has already been clear that Cousins is the guy to start the season unless something unexpected changes. He reiterated that stance in Las Vegas’ first preseason game, and the plan still appears to be for Cousins to lead the offense when the season begins.
The Raiders have a few more weeks of practices and two more preseason games to sort through the details, starting with a trip to Texas for joint work against Houston before the teams meet again in a preseason game a couple of days later.
Against the Cardinals, Mendoza completed 10 of his 16 passes and Cousins went 5 of 6. Both quarterbacks threw touchdown passes, and Mendoza handled a heavy workload in that game. He could see that kind of action again when Las Vegas and Arizona meet during the regular season.
That matchup is still a long way off, and the Raiders have plenty to do before then. For now, the team is taking it day by day while trying to get Mendoza as many useful reps as possible without putting him in unnecessary danger.
Kubiak liked what he saw from the rookie in the preseason debut.
“I think the thing that just stood out for me, again, is that we put a lot on his plate and all the quarterbacks played getting ready for this preseason game, and he went out and executed the way that he does in practice," Kubiak said.
"Some guys, they get to the game and things change on them, and it moves fast, and they freak out. And he was the opposite.
He was very calm. He was getting the calls in."
That calm has given Las Vegas reason to keep leaning into Mendoza’s development, especially in preseason settings where every snap matters. The Raiders know what they have in Cousins and O’Connell. Mendoza is the one who still needs the extra exposure, and the remaining preseason games should reflect that.
After years of searching for stable quarterback play, the Raiders seem far better equipped now than they were when the 2025 season ended. By the team’s own assessment, this may be the strongest quarterback group Las Vegas has had in at least the last three seasons.
Cousins is the immediate answer. Mendoza is the future the Raiders are trying to accelerate. And how Kubiak splits the work in the next few weeks could have a real impact on how this team looks in 2026.
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