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    Fernando Mendoza officially signs rookie contract

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    Raiders signed No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza to a four-year, $57.3 million contract.

    The Raiders and Mendoza were reportedly at a standstill over how his signing bonus would be paid out. Mendoza wanted it to be a lump sum, while the Raiders wanted to pay it in installments. Regardless of that minor detail, the value of the contract and that it is fully guaranteed were both set in stone the moment Vegas selected him. The deal also includes a fifth-year team option.
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  • LV Quarterback #15
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    Kubiak didn’t come right out and say Mendoza could see more first-team reps, but it feels like things are trending that way. His response came after he was asked if Mendoza specifically deserved more first-team reps after a nice outing in his first taste of preseason action, to which Kubiak said the team will put together a plan to ensure all three QBs get first-team reps, which feels somewhat evasive and unrealistic, given that we know career backup Aidan O’Connell isn’t contending for a starting job in camp. Kubiak went on record after Thursday’s game, saying that the battle for QB1 remains Kirk Cousins’ to lose. It wouldn’t be surprising if Mendoza did see more first-team reps in the coming days, but we would be surprised if O’Connell began working in with the first team. That said, it will be worth monitoring Mendoza’s first-team reps going forward, as he could still push Cousins for the starting role before Week 1.
  • LV Quarterback #8
    Cousins played on just one drive in Thursday’s loss. He went 5-for-6 on his pass attempts and capped his lone drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Michael Mayer. Rookie Fernando Mendoza, who looked sharp at times in his debut, is still positioned to open the season as Cousins’ backup, as Kubiak reasserted his decision to open the year with Cousins as the starter as of right now. Cousins has worked primarily with the starters in training camp and has received mostly good reports. It seems highly unlikely he would lose the starting job before Week 1’s game against the Dolphins.
  • LV Quarterback #15
    Mendoza took over for Kirk Cousins on the Raiders’ second drive. New Raiders coach Klint Kubiak had Mendoza lining up under center and running play action, and the No. 1 overall pick responded by successfully threading the needle on tight window throws to both WR Malik Benson and Jack Bech. He also checked down to fellow rookie Mike Washington when needed. Mendoza’s score was a six-yard strike to Bech, with the second-year wideout turning the grab into a tumbling plunge into the end zone. It was a solid start for a rookie who is evidently going to begin the year on the bench.
  • LV Quarterback #15
    Breer believes Mendoza is proving the Raiders’ scouting reports right. The young quarterback is “living in the building as a tireless, football-obsessed worker.” Although he is only working with the second team right now, Breer thinks Mendoza has a chance to earn first-team reps over the next couple of weeks. Breer celebrates Mendoza’s “unteachable traits,” noting his ability to monitor the pass rush and pass catchers simultaneously, even when all five eligibles are out running routes, and his ability to bounce back from bad plays. That said, Mendoza is still learning to play from under center and “with his back to the ball,” but the early signs are “good.” He believes Kirk Cousins “is still clearly the best guy at running coach Klint Kubiak’s offense.” Mendoza’s odds of starting this season are still unknown, but promising No. 1 overall picks don’t sit for long.
  • LV Quarterback
    Not exactly a surprise — you’d really hope your No. 1 overall quarterback pick would get some first-team reps before the season starts — but this is notable because earlier reports had Kirk Cousins taking all the first-team reps in offseason practices. Mendoza is not likely to be named the starter before the season, but it sounds like it’s more of a matter of when rather than if he eventually overtakes Cousins for the lead role this year.
  • LV Quarterback #8
    Cousins continues to be positioned for the Week 1 start. The 37-year-old vet isn’t expected to remain the starter for the entirety of the season, but naming him the starter will give No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who is still working on his footwork and playing more from under center, time to develop. While it’s long been assumed that Cousins would emerge from camp as the team’s starter, the fact that he’s reportedly taken every first-team rep thus far in the offseason suggests there’s little room for Mendoza to make an inroad for the QB1 job before the start of camp. We’ll see if this changes once training camp kicks off at the end of the month, but it sounds like Cousins has a firm grip on the starting job as of now.
  • LV Quarterback
    Raiders coaches have asked Mendoza to learn the intricacies of taking snaps from under center, which is something he rarely did in college. After practice today, Raiders assistant head coach Mike McCoy said Mendoza “has done a phenomenal job playing under center.” Mendoza feels like he is “leaps and bounds” ahead of where he was just a few months ago, but is still working on timing up his footwork “a little better with the routes.” The sooner he masters the little things, the sooner the Raiders will name him the starter. For now, the team maintains that QB Kirk Cousins is their QB1.
  • LV Quarterback #8
    McFadden reports that Cousins took the majority of the first team reps in Raiders practice on Wednesday. Meanwhile, No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza “played mostly with the rookies and the third team.” Head coach Klint Kubiak does not yet have a timeline to name a starter, but McFadden notes that Kubiak, general manager John Spytek, and minority owner Tom Brady are believers in letting a young quarterback sit behind a veteran initially. Cousins signed with the Raiders before the draft after parting ways with the Falcons in the offseason. The 37-year-old has started games with every team he has played with and this will likely continue to be the case. Mendoza is slated to sit to start the 2026 season, though we wouldn’t rule out the Indiana product starting by the time the Raiders’ Week 13 bye week rolls around.
  • LV Quarterback
    “He’s a good decision-maker, but I don’t think he’s got the NFL traits,” the coach told ESPN anonymously. “They’re all back-shoulder [throws]. That’s not working in the NFL. His receivers made plays to make him look better than he is. In the NFL, those throws are getting picked off.” Conversely, a Big Ten coach told ESPN Mendoza is “one of the more complete quarterback prospects he has seen.” Mendoza, the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after leading the Indian Hoosiers to their first-ever college football title, is widely expected to start the season on the bench behind Kirk Cousins. How long Mendoza waits for the starting gig likely depends on Cousins’ performance in Klint Kubiak’s offense.
  • LV Quarterback
    According to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, Mendoza took just five snaps under center over the course of his three-year college career. He took 2,073 snaps in shotgun formation. Mendonz said he is focused on footwork, particularly the first two steps, “securing the snap and getting out of there,” right now. He’s also been conducting walk-throughs at the team hotel with his fellow rookies over the past two nights, taking 25-50 snaps under center with each offensive lineman. Raiders veteran QB Kirk Cousins spent three seasons with head coach Klint Kubiak, as members of the Vikings, so Cousins, 37, will have an obvious edge in organized team activities later this month. That said, given Mendoza’s smarts and work ethic, we expect him to make playing style adjustments very quickly. No. 1 overall picks don’t stay in the backup role for long.

Rotoworld

  • IND Wide Receiver #13
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    Colts signed WR Keenan Allen to a one-year, $8.32 million contract.

    The new was first reported by NFL Insider Jordan Schultz. With the Colts in need of a starting caliber receiver given Alec Pierce’s slow recovery from offseason ankle surgery, Allen was an obvious fit. He was the best wide receiver still available and with the news that the Saints lost Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) for roughly two months dropping earlier Monday evening, the Colts finally pulled the trigger on a one-year deal for the 34-year-old veteran. While Allen instantly becomes a fantasy-relevant player again, his fit in the offense is interesting. Even in his prime, Allen was never a field-stretching deep threat like Pierce, the receiver he’s replacing. That means he’ll be fighting for the same underneath targets that will also go to Tyler Warren and Josh Downs. There will be plenty of targets to go around for all three to pay off their draft cost in PPR formats, but the overall efficiency of the offense could suffer without a legitimate deep threat.
  • DET Wide Receiver #1
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    Lions HC Dan Campbell told reporters WR Jameson Williams (shoulder) is dealing with a minor injury.

    Williams was notably absent from practice on Sunday and also missed Monday’s practice. He’s dealing with a minor shoulder injury, according to Campbell. Williams was spotted at Monday’s practice helping receivers go through a drill without a brace or a sling on his shoulder. Despite missing two practices so far, Campbell said Williams is “good to go.” While the coach said a significant amount of starters will play in the Lions second preseason game on Saturday, it’s unclear and potentially unlikely that Williams will be one of them at this point.
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    49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (tightness) is actually dealing with tightness and not holding in for a new contract, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

    There had been previous speculation, most notably from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and 49ers beat guy Grant Cohn, that McCaffrey’s tightness that cropped up just days after Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs reset the running back market was him holding in for a new contract of his own. Rapoport shot that down in a report Monday night, calling the timing of the injury a coincidence. Rapoport noted that it sounds like McCaffrey was angling for a new contract over the offseason, though those talks went nowhere. In positive news for fantasy managers, he also added that it’s his understanding the injury isn’t anything to worry about, which implies McCaffrey will be ready for the start of the regular season.
  • NO Wide Receiver #0
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    Saints WR Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) is expected to miss roughly two months, reports NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

    Tyson left practice last Thursday with a hamstring injury and sought opinions from multiple doctors over the weekend. Now he’s slated to miss roughly two months, according to Rapoport. It’s a tough blow for the 22-year-old receiver who also battled hamstring injuries during his college career. The Saints also drafted receivers Bryce Lance and Barion Brown, though Devaughn Vele could be first in line for additional targets while Tyson is out.
  • CHI Running Back #25
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    Bears RB Kyle Monangai is expected to miss multiple weeks with a hyperextended knee, reports ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler.

    Monangai suffered a right knee injury when he was tackled from behind by Grady Jarrett on Sunday. Despite earlier reports that Monangai would be fine, he’s now set to miss multiple weeks with a hyperextended knee, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Roschon Johnson would be in line to serve as the primary backup to D’Andre Swift for the first few weeks if the Bears don’t bring in another running back.
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    The Charlotte Observer’s Alex Zietlow said the Panthers have not determined when Darren Waller will make his debut.

    While the team has yet to decide when Waller will make his 2026 debut, Waller said his readiness for the upcoming season is “night and day from last year to this year.” Last season, Waller was returning from retirement and needed a lot of time to ramp up. Now, it sounds like Waller could be in a position to at least be ready for the start of the season for a Panthers team that’s in need of help at the tight end position. While his days as a weekly TE1 are well behind him, Waller could have some upside as a matchup-based streamer once we get a better sense of his role in the offense.
  • DEN Wide Receiver #17
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    Jaylen Waddle returned to practice on Monday.

    Waddle missed an extended amount of time due to what was being classified as a muscle strain by head coach Sean Payton. The veteran receiver officially returned to the practice field on Monday, with Payton saying after practice that Waddle was “coming along really well.” We’ll see how things go for Waddle in the coming days, but hopefully this issue is behind him. Waddle is expected to play a big role in the Broncos’ passing game this season and profiles as a solid WR2.
  • NYG Wide Receiver #1
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    Giants HC John Harbaugh said he doesn’t think Malik Nabers (knee) is “at full-speed yet” after his first day in 11-on-11 drills.

    It was a big day for Nabers, as the star receiver participated in 11-on-11s for the first time since suffering a torn ACL last season. While he may not be up to full-speed just yet, it has been a positive summer for Nabers overall. He managed to avoid the PUP list to open camp and has not suffered any setbacks since then. He’s still sporting the red non-contact jersey, but all signs continue to point to Nabers being ready for Week 1 if he continues on his current trajectory.
  • JAC Quarterback #16
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    Jaguars HC Liam Coen said he is “trending toward” playing the starters in Friday’s preseason game against the Panthers.

    The Jaguars didn’t play any starters in last week’s preseason game against the Saints, but Coen said that because they couldn’t do a padded practice on Monday with the Panthers, he may consider playing his starters a bit on Friday in order to get some “good (players) on good (players)” facing one another. If the Jaguars do play their starters this week, it will be their only taste of preseason action, as Coen has already said he won’t be playing them in the third preseason game.
  • LA Wide Receiver #12
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    Rams HC Sean McVay said Puka Nacua is still dealing with soreness in his groin.

    Nacua suffered a groin injury nearly a week ago and is still dealing with soreness. McVay said last week that he expects Nacua to return sometime this week, but the starting receiver was not on the field during Monday’s practice. McVay didn’t say which day he expects Nacua to be back, noting that the team prefers to “err on the side of caution” with soft-tissue injuries.