Kirk Cousins remains the Las Vegas Raiders’ starter against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, leaving rookie Fernando Mendoza in a backup role — for the ninth time in nine games after the Raiders made him the No. 1 overall draft pick this year.
The 4-4 Raiders snapped a four-game losing streak against the New York Jets last Sunday, but a 6-1 San Francisco team awaits, and the question lingers — when does the No. 1 overall pick play?
Cousins, 38, has given Las Vegas little reason to change course. Only one NFL quarterback has thrown more touchdown passes than Cousins, who has 19, according to the Associated Press. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak knows him well, having served as Minnesota’s quarterbacks coach, then offensive coordinator, during Cousins’ 2019-21 seasons with the Vikings. Sunday’s game kicks off at 1:25 p.m. PT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Trade rumors have floated around Cousins anyway ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, but the Raiders have shown no inclination to move their veteran quarterback. Las Vegas isn’t shopping its veterans while it stays in the playoff hunt, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. Their plan is to “play Kirk Cousins as long as possible,” Schefter reported.
“Fernando is going to play at some point,” Kubiak said on Oct. 26, when he declared there was no controversy at quarterback.
Mendoza has taken a reduced practice load as the backup.
“We all find out together on Sunday how ready he is,” Kubiak said at his Wednesday media availability. In other words, game action is the only full test. Kubiak added that the rookie needs to be prepared the moment the call comes, whether the opportunity arrives tomorrow or well down the road.
A Mendoza start after the bye week is the best-case scenario, according to ESPN, in an analysis published before the Raiders beat the Jets.
Las Vegas Raiders’ Kirk Cousins Record vs San Francisco 49ers
Cousins owns a 3-1 regular-season record against San Francisco, winning once with Washington and twice with the Minnesota Vikings. The playoffs went differently. The 49ers beat Minnesota 27-10 in the divisional round on Jan. 11, 2020, capping him at 172 passing yards and sacking him six times.
The past five years have seen only two matchups, split evenly at 1-1. Cousins passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns in a Nov. 28, 2021, loss to San Francisco, then threw for 378 yards and two more scores in a 22-17 Vikings win on Monday Night Football on Oct. 23, 2023.
Las Vegas Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza Bio and Career Stats
Mendoza, 23, attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he threw for 2,222 yards and 29 touchdowns. He redshirted at Cal in 2022, started there in 2023 and 2024, and passed for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final season with the Golden Bears.
Across 36 college games and 35 starts, Mendoza totaled 8,247 yards, 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
He transferred to Indiana for 2025. Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns with six interceptions, then led the Hoosiers past Miami 27-21 in the national championship game to cap an undefeated season. He also won the Heisman Trophy, the first in Indiana history, before the Raiders drafted him No. 1 overall.
Mendoza signed a four-year contract worth $57,270,598 in July, with a team option for a fifth season. His lone regular-season appearance came in the fourth quarter of a 45-17 loss at New England on Oct. 11, when he completed six of eight passes for 48 yards. He entered with just over six minutes left and moved the offense to the Patriots’ 14, but a fourth-down run came up one yard short.
Mendoza faced San Francisco once before, albeit not in an official game. In an Aug. 27 preseason loss, Mendoza went 7 of 14 for 57 yards with an interception against a 49ers defense made up of reserves.
Will Fernando Mendoza Play Today? When Will Raiders No. 1 Pick Get His Chance?