The Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall last month.
But Las Vegas also has Kirk Cousins, who is — at this point — expected to begin the season as the club’s QB1.
As a veteran quarterback who’s familiar with the offensive system, Cousins is showing command at the position, with the Raiders getting their OTAs started this week.
“Yeah, he’s a professional. He’s played a lot of football. He’s a leader that we’re counting on right now,” Kubiak told reporters on Wednesday. “You see that side of him when it gets competitive, that was fun to get that move the ball period and get guys off of scripts and see how they respond, and you see the fire come out, and that’s what I want from our guys.”
Given that it’s still May, Kubiak has not yet officially named a starting quarterback. But he noted that the players will be the ones to really make that decision.
“It’s going to reveal itself, especially in training camp,” Kubiak said. “But it’s going to reveal itself here in these next how many do we have? Eight OTAs, these minicamp practices. But yeah, we definitely would [like to name a QB], but [we’ll] let the players figure that out for us with their tape.”
With Atlanta last season, Cousins completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty came into the league with high expectations last season, but he didn’t quite reach them during a dismal year in Las Vegas.
Jeanty averaged 3.7 yards per carry and only had four games when he picked up more than 100 yards from scrimmage. Some of the blame for his struggles could be attributed to an offensive line that didn’t offer many holes and poor quarterback play that did little to open up the field, but there’s not much to do to dress up what was a disappointing rookie campaign.
On Wednesday, Jeanty discussed his hope for better results in Year 2 and said that drilling down on what he’s seeing on the field has helped him feel more prepared for what’s coming his way in Year 2.
“Just focusing in more on the details, what the defense is doing, how we’re blocking things, coverage, all that type of stuff,” Jeanty said, via the team’s website. “So, it’s definitely slowing down, and I think it’s also just repetition as well. The more you rep it, the more the game slows down.”
The Raiders hope that they’ve solved some of the other issues that made them the lowest-scoring team in the league last year and a jump forward for Jeanty would be a welcome jolt as well.
The Raiders drafted Fernando Mendoza to be their quarterback of the future. The No. 1 overall pick has been “as advertised” thus far, coach Klint Kubiak said Wednesday.
"[He has] not disappointed,” Kubiak said, via Ryan McFadden of ESPN. “He’s working his tail off. It’s very important to him that he asks a lot of great questions when he gets on the field. He’s no B.S.; he’s all ball.”
The Raiders are easing Mendoza into the offense, with Kirk Cousins taking first-team reps, followed by Aidan O’Connell and then Mendoza.
Kubiak has repeatedly said he would prefer that a rookie quarterback not start Day 1, and the sportsbooks like Cousins to start Week 1. But the Raiders are giving Mendoza every chance to win the job.
Mendoza is going the extra mile, putting in the work, asking questions and taking notes.
“Anything that you put in front of him, he’s going to attack it,” Kubiak said. “Anything new, he spends extra time on. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next.”
Defensive end Maxx Crosby’s unexpected return to the Raiders has not included a return to the practice field yet.
Crosby remains out after having knee surgery this offseason, but he was on the field to stretch with his teammates ahead of Wednesday’s organized team activity. Crosby may not do much more than that this spring as head coach Klint Kubiak said that the focus remains on making sure that he’s ready to go when training camp opens in August.
“Yeah, we do. That’s the goal,” Kubiak said. “He’s still the first one in this building every day, working. He’s a leader on our team, and when he’s out there, you feel his presence. And yes, we’re counting on him being there for training camp, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Maxx was ahead of schedule.”
Crosby was set to join the Ravens in March, but Baltimore called off the trade and Crosby returned to the Raiders after a 2025 season that featured some acrimony with the organization. Kubiak said that Crosby’s approach to the offseason has shown he “knows we’re counting on him to be a leader” before and after he’s healthy enough for a full return to action.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak hasn’t been in his job long, but he’s been in it long enough to know who one of the cornerstones of his team will be this season.
Tight end Brock Bowers had 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie, but an early-season knee injury forced him to play at less than 100 percent and miss time during his second year. The 2024 first-round pick had 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games, but it doesn’t sound like any of the knee issues have been troubling Bowers this offseason.
Kubiak called Bowers a “standard bearer” for the organization and had a colorful description of what’s impressed him most about Bowers on the field.
“He’s kind of a football robot, in a good way,” Kubiak said at a Wednesday press conference. “He’s a football robot from heaven. You know, he’s a Cadillac out there. We gotta get the most out of Brock. Wherever he goes, he’s been successful.”
The Raiders have followed up the Bowers selection by taking running back Ashton Jeanty and quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the first round of the last two drafts. If all goes as hoped in Vegas, the trio will be the centerpiece of a lot of winning during the Kubiak era.
