It was known well before the NFL Draft that the Las Vegas Raiders were going to use the No. 1 pick to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Even with that in mind, the team decided to sign Kirk Cousins in free agency.
Cousins is still a capable quarterback, but fans and ownership are going to be eager to see Mendoza play. However, general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak have suggested that they prefer to start the season with Cousins and ease Mendoza into the job.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Warren, it’s looking likely Cousins will get the nod in Week 1.
“The Raiders will take Fernando Mendoza’s process slow,” Warren wrote. “The No. 1 overall pick worked predominantly with the threes during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and Kirk Cousins and Aidan O’Connell were ahead of him in the quarterback rotation. The aim of that practice was to play Mendoza alongside developmental players to learn the NFL game together, so head coach Klint Kubiak doesn’t appear in a rush to ready his future quarterback. Assistant head coach Mike McCoy said the team has ‘a detailed plan’ for cultivating Mendoza, adding that ‘the most important thing is that you just stick to your plan, and when you know you make that decision.’ All signs point to Cousins starting the season at quarterback and the Raiders waiting for the right time to replace him with Mendoza.”
Raiders Can Still Change Course
The Raiders have only gone through OTAs, so there is still a lot of time before the start of the regular season. Once the pads go on in training camp, that’s when players will really start to separate.
If Mendoza outshines Cousins in training camp, it’s going to be difficult to keep him off the field. It’s also easy to see that happening. Mendoza is younger, more athletic and bigger than Cousins. He has also proven to play his best football under pressure.
The Raiders clearly want to ease Mendoza along, but they can’t keep him on the bench if he’s clearly the better quarterback.
Mendoza Reveals Message From Tom Brady
Even if Mendoza doesn’t start this season, he’s the future at quarterback for the Raiders. Minority owner and legendary quarterback Tom Brady helped hand-pick him.
Mendoza is going to use Brady as a resource and recently revealed some of the advice he got from the Super Bowl champion.
“I usually like to keep the talks between Tom and me private. But I do think what he said as a quarterback is you need to be the most everything. You need to be the most competitive. You need to be the most leader — you have to have the most leadership. You need to be the toughest, mentally and physically. You’ve got to embody all these things and lead by example before getting the respect from your teammates, in order to lead effectively. That really resonated with me,” Mendoza told the Raiders’ YouTube channel.
Mendoza has the perfect mentor for his development. It’s just up to him to find a way to be successful on the field.
Raiders Seem to Be Favoring Decision That Could Stir Controversy