Fernando Mendoza is not expected to play Sunday when the Las Vegas Raiders face the New England Patriots, with Kirk Cousins firmly entrenched as the starter. Barring an injury to Cousins or other extraordinary circumstance, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and college national champion appears set to sit out his fifth straight game to start his NFL career.
The No. 1 overall pick has yet to take a regular-season snap, and Cousins’ hot start leaves no obvious date for that to change.
The Raiders (3-1) have ridden Cousins since signing him in the offseason, after the Atlanta Falcons released him, according to Last Word on Sports. Mendoza, 23, is healthy and sits at No. 2 on the depth chart, so his Sunday assignment is the sideline, watching, learning and staying ready in case Cousins goes down.
Mendoza was born in Boston and raised in Miami, where he played at Christopher Columbus High School. He committed to Yale, then switched to California, and threw for 3,004 yards at Cal in 2024. At Indiana, he piled up 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, won the Heisman Trophy and beat Miami 27-21 in the national title game.
Fernando Mendoza’s Raiders Playing Time Outlook
Cousins threw nine touchdown passes through the Raiders’ first three games, matching Tom Brady (2015 and 2021) as the only quarterbacks 38 or older to do that over an opening three-game span, according to CBS Sports.
Mendoza did not start the opener, the first time since 2018 that a quarterback drafted No. 1 overall began a season on the bench.
“I am all for whatever the team wants and whatever is best for the team,” Mendoza said, as quoted by GMA. He added that he is “all in” on the coaches’ decision.
First-year Raiders coach Klint Kubiak prefers a gradual path for young quarterbacks. Experts identify the Week 8 game at the New York Jets as the earliest spot where a switch makes sense, if Las Vegas slips below .500 by then. But the NFL experts also say that Cousins is likely to keep the job for the rest of 2026.
Fernando Mendoza vs. Patriots’ Drake Maye Rookie Timeline
Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, also opened as a backup to a veteran, Jacoby Brissett. His first appearance came in Week 3 on Sept. 19, 2024, when New England trailed the New York Jets 24-3 and then-coach Jerod Mayo sent him in with less than five minutes left in the game. Maye completed four of eight passes for 22 yards and took two sacks, according to a CBS Sports.
His first start followed three weeks later, in Week 6 on Oct. 13, 2024, against the Houston Texans. Maye went 20-of-33 for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and his 38 rushing yards led the team, albeit in a 41-21 loss, according to the Patriots’ game notes on Patriots.com. No quarterback had thrown three touchdowns and led his team in rushing in a first career start since at least 1950.
Mendoza’s rookie year has run on a different clock. Maye played in Week 3 and started in Week 6, while Mendoza arrives at Week 5 with no appearance and no start in sight.
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