There is never a Las Vegas Raiders offseason without a little bit of drama, but things have been mostly quiet for the team since the Maxx Crosby trade fell through. The one lingering issue they had was that No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza hadn’t signed his contract before training camp.
Fortunately, the Raiders were finally able to get that done before the rookie had to report to practice. It’s unclear what exactly the hang-up was, but speculation has suggested it had to do with Mendoza’s signing bonus.
Regardless, Mendoza is under contract for at least the next four years, so any potential drama has been avoided. General manager John Spytek avoided giving specifics, but did open up about why there was such a delay in getting the deal done.
“Contracts are always more complicated than what people think,” Spytek told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “There was always a way to work through that, and we just wanted to do good deals for everybody and we wanted everybody to be here at the same time, and that’s easier said than done. But in the first run with Klint (Kubiak) and me here, we didn’t want any distractions. We didn’t want to be talking about other things outside of football.”
Offseason Has Given Raiders Momentum
The Raiders have had a very busy offseason. They were among the biggest spenders in free agency and had the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The team invested much of that money in upgrading the offensive line and defense. Breer thinks the Raiders are finally headed in the right direction.
“This offseason was a pivotal one for the storied franchise,” Breer wrote. “They have a new coach for the fourth time in five offseasons. They had the No. 1 pick in a draft that had a quarterback worthy of being picked that high. They traded their best player only to have him returned to them like a shiny new car with faulty brakes sent back to the dealership. They spent big in free agency. Through it all, the offseason program gave them a little (much-needed) momentum.”
Mendoza Not Working Against Cousins
Now that Mendoza is signed, the biggest thing to watch is his upcoming quarterback competition with Kirk Cousins. Right now, the veteran is the early leader in the clubhouse.
He knows Kubiak’s system and has over a decade of experience as a starter. However, Mendoza is more talented, bigger and more athletic. It won’t be difficult for him to take the lead against Cousins as long as he plays well in training camp.
For his part, Mendoza isn’t looking to beat out Cousins. He wants to work closely with the quarterback and work together to put the team in the best position to win.
“Being a part of the Silver and Black, we want to compete every single day and do the best that we can for the organization and best for the team so we can win games,” Mendoza told Raiders.com.
“Everybody in the quarterback room is a top-tier quarterback and it’s going to be competing with each other, not competing against each other.”
Raiders GM John Spytek Explains Delay in Fernando Mendoza’s Contract