The Las Vegas Raiders had a promising start to the season, but things have gone from bad to worse. The team lost their fourth straight game in a Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The defense played very poorly, but the offense wasn’t much better. Quarterback Kirk Cousins did throw two touchdowns, but they came when the game was mostly out of reach.
He has been very solid for the Raiders this season, but his lack of mobility hurts the offense. There have been suggestions that now might be the time to turn to rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza to try and spark the team.
While Cousins doesn’t want to lose his starting job, he is in support of whatever the Raiders decide to do.
“If I’m not the best option, then I don’t want to be out there either,” Cousins said when asked about the team possibly replacing him in the starting lineup with Mendoza. “I want our football team to have the best chance to win games. If the first OTA, that has become apparent, I would’ve been the first one to say, ‘Yeah, you can’t play me.’ So, nothing changes. The organization will do what they feel is best, but I feel that Fernando’s done a great job and has a bright future ahead. I’m gonna try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can to help us win and give him a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually.”
Could Cousins Get Traded?
If the Raiders decide to make Mendoza the starter, it could be time to consider a Cousins trade. He’s playing well and could be the starter for a number of good teams that are dealing with quarterback injuries.
The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings are a couple of teams that could make a lot of sense. The Cleveland Browns may also want to take a look. The Raiders know that Cousins isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback. He’s almost certainly a one-year rental.
If a team is willing to give up a good draft pick to get him, the Raiders should strongly consider pivoting to Mendoza.
Raiders Need a Win Soon
Week 7 was looking like a game the Raiders could have a good chance of winning. The Los Angeles Rams were coming off back-to-back losses and haven’t been playing well.
They are also ravaged by injuries. The Raiders couldn’t take advantage of the injuries on both sides of the ball. The Rams are still a good team, so it’s not a surprise they won, but the Raiders should’ve been able to keep it much closer.
It’s hard to blame either the defense or the offense when both units play so poorly. Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard had a promising start to the season, but it’s becoming apparent that he has needed more experience before getting promoted. The Raiders could really use a win against the New York Jets in Week 8, or things could start getting pretty ugly.
Kirk Cousins Gets Brutally Honest About Possible Benching for Fernando Mendoza