It has been an up-and-down season for the Las Vegas Raiders as a whole, but prior to Week 9, quarterback Kirk Cousins had been consistently solid. He was second in the NFL with 19 touchdown passes and was playing some of the best football of his career.
He finally crashed back to earth against the San Francisco 49ers. Cousins threw three interceptions and was a big reason why the Raiders couldn’t keep the game more competitive.
By the time the fourth quarter came around, everybody was waiting for rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza to replace Cousins. That never ended up happening. The Raiders have been trying to remain patient and not play Mendoza much this season, but if Cousins is going to keep playing like that, it’s a serious problem.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco doesn’t think the Raiders can hold off any longer, and Mendoza needs to start playing.
“Now is the time,” Prisco said on “NFL Postgame.” “The Raiders aren’t going to the postseason. They’re not getting to the playoffs. And so, get on with it, and bring Fernando Mendoza in and let him play. I think this is the moment when you need to start doing that. … It is officially Fernando Mendoza time for the Raiders.”
Why Wouldn’t Raiders Start Mendoza?
To Prisco’s point, the Raiders don’t really have a lot to lose by playing Mendoza. Cousins has mostly been good, but he’s not the future at quarterback in Las Vegas.
It can’t hurt to give Mendoza some experience. At the same time, the Raiders still can’t run the ball or play defense. That’s not an ideal situation for a rookie quarterback.
He’d be relied on a lot, which typically ends in disaster for young quarterbacks on bad teams. Plus, the Raiders play the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos in the coming weeks. Those are two very good teams.
Right now, the Raiders do have the perfect excuse to start Mendoza, but the fact that they didn’t even put him in when the game was lost in the fourth quarter is a sign that they have no plans to play him any time soon.
Could Cousins Get Traded?
Cousins trade talk started to heat up after he scored four touchdowns against the New York Jets in Week 8. There are other contending teams out there that need a quarterback.
There was even talk of the Raiders possibly getting a first-round pick. After Cousins’ awful performance against the 49ers, that won’t happen, but they could still get something. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there hasn’t been much interest in a Cousins trade yet.
“As of this weekend, the Raiders had not received any trade inquiries regarding their starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, nor are they interested in dealing him, per league sources. They plan to keep sticking with him until they believe their No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is ready,” Schefter wrote on X.
It’s still possible that things change, but it’s looking more likely that Cousins sticks around for the rest of the season.
Raiders Urged to Make Difficult Fernando Mendoza Decision