During the first week of the NFL preseason, the Las Vegas Raiders played host to the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium. They were unable to come out with the win in rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s debut.
On Thursday, the Raiders will play their second preseason game, with the storied NFL franchise set to face the Houston Texans on the road at NRG Stadium, where they’ll face a team with arguably the best defense in the league last season.
Texans Not Expected to Play ‘Several’ Starters vs. Raiders
GettyWill Anderson Jr. #51 of the Houston Texans runs onto the field during the joint practice with the
Las Vegas Raiders.
In an interesting twist ahead of Thursday’s preseason game in Houston, the Texans are expected not to play several starters, which initially was thought not to be the case for head coach DeMeco Ryans and company, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
On Tuesday, the Raiders went head-to-head with the Texans’ starters in a joint practice in Houston, where Mendoza got his fair share of first-team reps.
Raiders’ new head coach Klint Kubiak felt like Mendoza would benefit from going up against the Texans’ starters on defense and seemed to have liked the results of his rookie quarterback facing a formidable defense.
“I wanted to see him going against the Texans’ ones,” Kubiak said of Mendoza. “That was our plan all along. I thought he did some good things. I look forward to watching the tape. He and his teammates, all these young guys that were playing, we’ve got to get them up to speed real quick.”
Mendoza spoke to the media after the joint practice in Houston and shared his thoughts on going up against the Texans’ starters on defense ahead of the Raiders’ second preseason game.
“I think it’s great,” Mendoza said. “We go against our defense, which is fantastic, and it’s a top defense every single day. And then now be able to go against the Texans’ defense, which is also a top defense in the league, go against them, be able to get some reps with the ones against the superstars on their defense.”
As for the Raiders playing their starters against the Texans, Kubiak was noncommittal, via Sam Warren of The Athletic.
He said Fernando Mendoza will get a lot of reps against the Texans.
“We’ll see,” Kubiak said of playing his starter against the Texans.
However, Kubiak has made it clear that Mendoza will get plenty of reps during Thursday’s game and for the rest of the preseason leading up to Week 1 of the regular season against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13.
Kirk Cousins Still Expected to Be Raiders’ Starter Over Fernando Mendoza
GettyKirk Cousins #8 of the Las Vegas Raiders
Despite Mendoza getting first-team reps during training camp, the plan seems to remain the same in terms of veteran newcomer Kirk Cousins being the starter come Week 1.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network claims that it remains Kubiak’s plan to start the season with Cousins under center rather than the No. 1 overall pick.
“My understanding is it’s still Kirk Cousins to be the starter for the Las Vegas Raiders,” Rapoport said on The Insiders. “That has been the plan throughout. They have announced it. They’ve been very clear. I don’t believe that has changed at all.”
This is likely the smart move for Kubiak and company, as teams generally ride with a veteran before turning to rookie quarterbacks expected to be franchise players in the near future.
Raiders Get Surprise Texans Update Ahead of Fernando Mendoza’s Next Test