Cousins, Crosby held out of practice Saturday

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.

Crosby underwent meniscus surgery in January after playing through a left knee injury for much of last season. His health and failed physical were infamously the reason for a failed trade with the Ravens, but new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said the 28-year-old is ready for the start of training camp. He will not have the same limits as he did for the offseason program; Crosby is on track to be a full-go heading into the season.

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.

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.

Multiple league sources tell Bonsignore that the Raiders would revisit the idea of trading Crosby away “if the right offer was made.” According to Bonsignore’s sources, the 49ers could make a play for him if they so desire. The Raiders nearly traded Crosby to the Ravens earlier this offseason, but the Ravens cancelled the deal due to concerns over a “degenerative issue” in his knee. Per Bonsignore, if Crosby “returns to terrorizing Raiders’ practices during training camp, he’ll put all concerns to rest,” and “the Raiders will be flooded with calls from interested teams.” The 49ers hope to make a Super Bowl run this season. Adding Crosby to their pass rush makes sense. Williams, the 49ers’ EDGE in reference, is currently recovering from a torn ACL and it is unclear whether he will be able to play in Week 1. At 22 years old, he is more of a long-term option anyway, and the Raiders are currently rebuilding. This framework is interesting and could work well for both sides. Stay tuned.

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.

Crosby underwent knee surgery at the start of the offseason and has been working his way back since. The Ravens were set to acquire the 28-year-old pass rusher before a failed physical due to concerns with his knee nixed the deal. Crosby is instead back with the Raiders and continuing to rehab after the knee ended his 2025 season early. New head coach Klint Kubiak said the goal is to have Crosby back and healthy by training camp.

Atkins believes the Raiders have mended their relationship with Crosby, and currently plan to keep him, but “the organization’s approach could change if the Raiders hit another tough start to a season.” Per Atkins, the Rams also “want to be one of the rare teams willing to trade from an expectedly loaded 2027 draft class” as they pursue a Super Bowl this year. If the rest of the NFL is set on keeping their 2027 picks, it could give the Rams an opportunity to exploit the market. Many things can change between now and this season’s trade deadline, so this scenario should not be considered likely to happen. If a big, pre-deadline move has been on the Rams’ mind, it could partially explain why they used the 2026 NFL Draft’s No. 13 overall pick on a developmental player, rather than an immediate starter, though.

“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.

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.