The Las Vegas Raiders are officially entering a new era of the storied franchise, with the team trading veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the NFL trade deadline, which hands over the team to No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
After it became official that the Raiders were moving on from Cousins in exchange for a third-round draft pick, first-year head coach Klint Kubiak and company let it be known that it is Mendoza’s team moving forward and that he would be the starter for Las Vegas on Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Klint Kubiak: Fernando Mendoza is ‘Prepared’ for First NFL Start
On Wednesday, both Kubiak and Mendoza spoke to the media about the aftermath of the Cousins trade and the rookie getting the start in Week 10 against the visiting Seahawks.
“He’s prepared,” Kubiak said of Mendoza heading into his first NFL start. … “His daily preparation has been up to standard, and now he’s got to go prove it in the game.”
Mendoza will face a tough challenge against arguably the best defense in the NFL, which, ironically, is also Kubiak’s former team, against whom he went up against in practice many times as the offensive coordinator in Seattle.
Kubiak, who has extensive experience facing the Seahawks’ defense, was asked whether it would be valuable for Mendoza right out of the gate.
“It is, yeah,” Kubiak said. “Every week in the NFL is tough, and this is the best defense in the NFL. Again, he’s got to go do his job and not worry about a whole lot else.”
One thing seems certain when it comes to how Kubiak views Mendoza heading into his first start, and that’s that he feels he’s more than ready to take on the challenge and lead this team moving forward for the rest of the 2026 NFL season.
As Kubiak said, Mendoza now has to prove he is ready, and he’ll be put to the test immediately, with the Raiders coming into this matchup as underdogs against the defending champions.
Kirk Cousins Thanks Raiders for Opportunity After Vikings Trade
After playing the first nine games of the 2026 NFL season with the Raiders, Cousins will get a chance to start fresh with the Vikings for a second time around.
Cousins made sure to thank the Raiders for the opportunity they gave him after a disappointing stint with the Atlanta Falcons.
“I want to say thank you to the Raiders for the opportunity they gave me this past offseason,” Cousins said in his first press conference back with the Vikings. “The chance they gave me to play and the way they handled with Minnesota the last 24 hours. So grateful for them and the people there, and certainly, it was tough to leave a building that you’ve spent some time with the guys and built some rapport.”
The Cousins trade is one of the few that seem to make sense on both sides, with the Raiders getting a third-round pick to continue building around Mendoza and the Vikings receiving a veteran quarterback who is very familiar with his surroundings in Minnesota.
So far, it’s a win-win situation for both teams.
Raiders’ Klint Kubiak Makes One Thing Clear About Fernando Mendoza