It's official: the Raiders are riding with Kirk Cousins to open the season, and Fernando Mendoza is staying on the bench for now. Ian Rapoport confirmed the news out of the Raiders building, reporting the team named Cousins the starter with development being the priority for Mendoza behind him.
From @GMFB: The #Raiders made it official, naming Kirk Cousins as the starter. Development is most important for Fernando Mendoza.
This wasn't exactly a shock, but it's still notable. Mendoza came into Las Vegas as the No. 1 overall pick after a Heisman-winning, undefeated national title run at Indiana — the kind of resume that usually fast-tracks a rookie into the lineup. Instead, he's only the second No. 1 overall quarterback pick since Baker Mayfield in 2018 to not start Week 1.
Head coach Klint Kubiak, in his first year running the show in Las Vegas, made the call, saying Cousins "has had a really good offseason, very [good in training] camp and he's earned it." As for Mendoza, Kubiak's message was blunt: he "has got to earn it every day, and he knows that."
The Cousins-to-Vegas pipeline makes more sense when you remember he and Kubiak go back to their Minnesota Vikings days, which reportedly played into the Raiders' thinking when they signed him this offseason. Cousins landed in Las Vegas on a deal that can max out around $172 million over 5 years, though only $20 million of it is guaranteed for 2026 — with the Falcons, who released Cousins after just 2 years of a 4-year, $180 million contract, still on the hook for a chunk of that guarantee.
The Raiders had already moved on from Geno Smith, trading him to the Jets before pivoting to Cousins, so this wasn't a locker room short on quarterback intrigue even before Mendoza arrived. Now the plan is clear: let the 37-year-old vet run the offense in Kubiak's first season while the rookie learns from the sideline.
For Mendoza, this is a delayed start, not a lost opportunity — the organization still views him as the long-term answer, just not the Week 1 one. For Cousins, it's a chance to prove he's still got starter-level football left after a rocky ending in Atlanta. Either way, all eyes in Las Vegas are now on how long this arrangement actually lasts.