Mendoza finds the end zone in preseason debut

With input from Tom Brady, head coach Klint Kubiak will put the 38-year-old Cousins under center for the season opener against the Dolphins. Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, will serve as Cousins’ backup. How long this arrangement will last is anyone’s guess. A good start to the regular season could delay Mendoza’s first NFL start for a couple months but he’s almost certain to take over as the Vegas starter at some point in 2026. Mendoza should be stashed in most superflex formats and Cousins profiles as a decent QB2 in such formats for Week 1.

An NFL head coach consulting with an NFL announcer on who his team should start under center is a brave new world for the league. It looks like the Raiders are set on Kirk Cousins to start Week 1 against the Dolphins after Fernando Mendoza’s spotty preseason play and struggles in training camp. Look for Cousins to target his short-area pass catchers relentlessly, like he did last year in Atlanta. It won’t be long before Mendoza gets a shot at starting duties. He should be rostered in most superflex leagues.

Appearing on NFL Live Friday afternoon, Fowler said that people inside the Raiders’ building and around the league still expect Cousins to be named the starter. Raiders HC Klint Kubiak declined to name a starting quarterback Friday morning. Following the loss of Thursday’s preseason game against the 49ers, Kubiak said rookie Fernando Mendoza needs another three preseason games before going as far as mentioning that Mendoza’s practice reps will decline once the regular season begins. While Kubiak continues to drag his feet when it comes to the official announcement, all signs still point to Cousins being named the starter at some point eventually.

That’s three straight weeks that Kubiak has declined to name his Week 1 starter despite the widely held belief that it will be Kirk Cousins getting the start in Week 1 against the Dolphins. Cousins has received the majority of first-team reps throughout the offseason and limited action in the preseason, while Fernando Mendoza has worked mostly with backups and played extensively in every preseason game. We’ll see just how long Kubiak is willing to stretch this decision out, but it would come as a surprise to almost everyone if Mendoza got the nod over Cousins in Week 1.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak declined to name a starting quarterback last week (and again this evening), but Cousins certainly received starter treatment this evening. He played two series, along with the Raiders’ other starters, before being subbed out for QB Fernando Mendoza. The rookie quarterback is playing well. He shares fault with WR Jalen Nailor for the interception. The throw was late, and Nailor tipped it to a 49ers defender. The 49ers’ pass rush also got home a few times against Mendoza as well. Cousins looks like the early-season starter at this time, but stashing Mendoza on benches in superflex leagues could eventually pay off.

Kirk Cousins didn’t play a snap in Thursday night’s game, but despite the decision not to dress his veteran QB, Kubiak opted not to commit to a starter just yet. Rookie Fernando Mendoza played the entire first half of yesterday’s game, completing 8-of-15 passes for 86 yards, with one of his incompletions resulting in an 80-yard pick-six. It’s long been believed that the Raiders’ plan entering this season was to go with Cousins as the starter before eventually making the move to Mendoza later in the year. While that may still end up being how things unfold, Kubiak’s decision not to name a starter on a night when several starters sat has raised questions ahead of the team’s third and final preseason game next week against the 49ers.

Washington looked good once again this week. His best play was an explosive gain on the Raiders’ first drive. Washington ran into the back of the line briefly but bounced off contact and took off downfield for a 33-yard gain. He was tackled by his shoestrings on the Texans’ 25-yard line. Unfortunately, the next play wasn’t great. Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza decided to check down to Washington on a play-action dropback, but the pass was intercepted and returned for an 80-yard touchdown. Texans LB Wade Woodaz made a great play on the ball. Washington possibly could have done a better job of maintaining spatial awareness and boxing Woodaz out, but the result of the play does not fall entirely on Washington’s shoulders. The rookie running back could offer standalone FLEX value this season. At worst, he is a high-upside stash.

This comes on the heels of Mendoza impressing Vegas coaches in his preseason debut, completing ten of his 16 attempts for 97 yards and a touchdown against Arizona. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said after the game that the team’s Week 1 starting gig was still Kirk Cousins’ to lose. It appears Mendoza, with another solid preseason performance, could challenge for that top spot. Kubiak will be watching the rookie’s anticipation closely when Vegas takes on the Texans on Thursday.

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.

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.