Latest On Raiders Starting Quarterback Competition

Coming out of OTAs and mandatory minicamp, the Raiders are still on track with their plan to start veteran QB Kirk Cousins ahead of No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza in Week 1, per Jason La Canfora. 

La Canfora writes there’s a lot of organizational buy-in at all different levels, starting with minority owner Tom Brady who believes Mendoza can benefit greatly from watching and learning for a while, per a person close to him. 

“They love Kirk and what he brings to the mix,” that same person told La Canfora. 

Cousins’ ties to Raiders HC Klint Kubiak and his experience in the system made him valuable to the Raiders, who believe he can help teach Mendoza while also not needing a full complement of reps to perform well as the starter (giving Mendoza more developmental reps in practice). 

La Canfora adds that the Raiders also want to make sure their offensive line is in a solid place before tossing Mendoza in. There are multiple competitions for starting roles that will be decided in camp. 

Another piece of the situation, per La Canfora, is that the Raiders will be heavily reliant on going under center as opposed to shotgun — something that should benefit Cousins and a transition that Mendoza will have to master coming from a shotgun-heavy system at Indiana. 

History says first-round quarterbacks end up playing sooner rather than later, and No. 1 picks usually get the nod from the jump. 

However, the Raiders have maintained they plan to give Cousins some real burn, and in an ideal scenario Mendoza might end up sitting for most of his rookie season. 

Cousins, 37, is a former fourth-round pick of Washington back in 2012. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before being franchised in back-to-back seasons. 

Cousins later departed in free agency for a three-year, $84 million contract with the Vikings. He was entering the final year of his contract in 2020 when he agreed to a two-year, $66 million contract extension. In 2021, he agreed to a new one-year, $35 million contract extension that was also fully guaranteed.

He was in the final year of that deal in 2023 and was testing the market as an unrestricted free agent when signing with the Falcons in 2024. He inked a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million in guaranteed money. 

Cousins was released by the Falcons this offseason, and signed a deal with the Raiders that pays him $20 million in 2026.

In 2025, Cousins appeared in 10 games for the Falcons, starting eight, and completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.

Mendoza, 22, began his college career at Cal and became the starter as a redshirt freshman. He transferred to Indiana after two seasons and won a national championship and the Heisman Trophy.

He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft after the season. The Raiders selected him with the No. 1 overall pick. He signed a four-year, $57.271 million rookie contract that included a $38.112 million signing bonus. The deal also includes a fifth-year option for the Raiders to decide on in 2029. 

In 2025, Mendoza started 16 games for the Hoosiers and completed 72 percent of his pass attempts for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 90 rushes for 276 yards and seven touchdowns. 

We’ll have more on the Raiders’ quarterback situation as the news is available.