Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was clear with reporters on Tuesday that Kirk Cousins is Las Vegas’ starter, with No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza a part of the group pushing the signal-caller.
But Mendoza himself framed that picture a little differently recently, saying that he’s competing with and not against Cousins.
What does that mean to the veteran QB? Well, for Cousins, “pushing” and “competing with” are effectively synonyms.
“I think that’s pro football,” Cousins said, via transcript from the team, when asked about being pushed by the QBs behind him on the depth chart. “I think every day we go out there, we all try to work together and raise the standard every day for one another. I think every position group, we’re all competing. I just think that’s the world we’ve lived in even going back to college. They’re going to put as many good players in a room as they can and see who can come out as the guy who is taking the spot to play.
“We’re all supporting one another and working together. That’s just the journey we’ve always been on, and it’s pretty much the norm.”
On “competing with” Mendoza, Cousins added he feels like that’s “always trying to ask good questions, help one another, challenge one another, and raise the standard. Have fun competing because competition is fun. Have fun doing that together. And I think that’s what it will always be.”
Cousins noted that when he got into the league, he had Rex Grossman in his QBs room in Washington and asked him questions “maybe to the point of being annoying.” But they built a good rapport that “made a big difference for me in my career.”
Cousins is in Las Vegas to play, but there is still a way he can help fill Mendoza in on many of the nuances of playing QB in the league by being a mentor.
“I think it’s just a great daily conversation in the meeting room, certainly on the practice field, but even in the downtimes in the cafeteria,” Cousins said when asked about Mendoza and mentorship. “The conversation can drift from football to other things, and we can all learn from each other. So, I enjoy being in here with the guys. When I’m at home in the summer, I get a lot of time with my family, which is nice too. But it’s also fun to hang out with a bunch of young 25-year-olds with a lot of energy, and they make me laugh. I was laughing almost till I cried yesterday at lunch. The guys are so funny. So, I didn’t have that the last six weeks in the summer break. So, it’s good to get back with everybody.
Cousins appeared in 10 games with eight starts for the Falcons last year, completing 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
