The Las Vegas Raiders decided on Sept. 2 to name Kirk Cousins their starting QB as Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season nears. As a result, No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza will be on the sidelines learning as he develops.
Last season with the Atlanta Falcons, Cousins played 302 pass snaps, leading to a PFF passing grade of 75.0. Moreover, the veteran threw for 1,721 yards and 10 touchdowns, with five interceptions. Cousins also recorded nine big-time throws and five turnover-worthy plays.
Despite being the placeholder for Mendoza, ESPN NFL analyst Booger McFarland sees Cousins as the Raiders’ starting QB for most of the season.
“Cousins should be the starter,” McFarland said on the Sept. 2 edition of “NFL Live.” “I think anytime that Tom Brady comes out and says how he likes to develop a quarterback, and we know what his imprint is on this organization, that’s what they’re going to do;I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see Fernando Mendoza until the bye week.
“I think they’re going to bring this young quarterback along slowly. Let’s not forget, he didn’t take but four or five snaps under center in college. So therefore, everything is new to him. Going under center, taking the snap, play-action pass, everything is so new.”
Fernando Mendoza Can Now Develop at His Own Pace
Moreover, McFarland notes that Mendoza will now have time to learn to play under center and won’t be rushed into something new for him. With the Raiders’ bye week not until Week 13, the rookie QB will have plenty of time to get comfortable playing under center.
“It would be foolish of us to think that he’s mastered that in four or five months,” McFarland added. “I think this is going to be Kirk Cousins’ job, barring injury, until at least the bye week, and regardless of what happens on the field, aside from injury, they’re going to play Kirk Cousins. Realize that the Raiders are in this for the long haul. This is not about 2026. This is about 2027 and beyond. So you put Kirk Cousins out there, you let him start, and you move on from there.
“You develop Fernando Mendoza at practice the way that coaches do at practice. That’s a key factor. We don’t talk about that. Yeah, he’s not going to play, but what are you going to do to develop him at practice during the week?”
Raiders Have Solid Foundation for Fernando Mendoza
While Mendoza focuses on his development, ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick noted that he likes the foundation that the QB will be walking into once he’s ready with the moves the team made this past offseason.
“I think the best friend to a young quarterback is a strong run game, and that starts up front on the offensive line. That’s why the signing of Tyler Linderbaum was so critical to them because he’s at the command and control center with the quarterback. So that’s first and foremost what they wanted to do. They want to get this ground game going.
“Look, Klint saw how beneficial that was at his previous stop in Seattle for Sam Darnold to have guys like Kenneth Walker be able to take some of the burden off of a quarterback, really get the play-action passing game going, open up throwing windows. We talk about it all the time, the benefits of play-action, and then how that can then go ahead and help young quarterbacks, old quarterbacks, any quarterback.”
Raiders Handed Strong Prediction After Naming Kirk Cousins QB1