Tom Brady’s presence in Las Vegas is already showing up in a place you might not expect: the quarterback meeting room.
Brady bought a minority share of the Raiders in October of 2024, and while he’s not around the building every day, his influence has clearly made its way into the way the team talks football. That came through this week in a story Kirk Cousins shared with FOX game analyst Mark Schlereth during production meetings ahead of Sunday’s broadcast.
Schlereth recounted the exchange on the Stinkin’ Truth Podcast, saying Cousins described having a “direct line” to Brady for football questions. The moment that stood out came when the Raiders’ quarterbacks were working through an exotic blitz look in a meeting. Cousins said he offered his own answer, then pulled out his phone, recorded the play, and sent it to Brady.
Within a minute, Brady responded with the same solution.
“And Kirk goes, it’s exactly what I had said. And I got confirmation from the greatest quarterback… to ever play the game.”
That’s the kind of back-and-forth the Raiders seem to value right now, with Brady acting as a voice Cousins can tap into when the situation calls for it.
For now, though, the bigger question around the Raiders is when Fernando Mendoza gets his shot. Schlereth said the answer from the team is simple: not yet.
“As long as Kirk Cousins plays well, it’s Kirk Cousins’ job, and that’s all season long,” Schlereth said.
Cousins, according to Schlereth, was just as direct about that reality. He said he would have no issue being benched if his play drops off, and added that his job is also to help Mendoza learn what the pro game looks like from the inside.
“The best thing I can do for Mendoza is show him how to prepare and what an NFL offense looks like. That’s the best thing I can do, because he’s going to learn through osmosis how this thing gets done.”
Chris Myers echoed that same message during the Sunday broadcast after speaking with Klint Kubiak and John Spytek before the game. Myers said he asked both the Raiders’ head coach and general manager whether they had a plan to work Mendoza into the offense.
“They both said ‘Not necessarily. As long as Cousins is rolling with the team and we’re winning, we’ll stay with that.'”
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