Scott Gulbransen
Kirk Cousins is still the guy in Henderson, at least for now, and Klint Kubiak didn’t go out of his way this week to pretend otherwise.
The Raiders coach was asked about his quarterbacks during OTAs this week, and the answer leaned toward the veteran. Cousins is “a leader that we’re counting on right now,” Kubiak said, adding the Raiders like his experience and tested-by-fire history. Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick and the supposed centerpiece of everything the Raiders are building, got plenty of praise, but the framing was clear enough that anyone hoping the rookie would just seize the job came away disappointed.
Mendoza Mania Strikes Raider Nation But Patience a Must
The fact that Kubiak is playing up his veteran and hinting that fans may have to wait a bit to see Mendoza take the field bugs certain segments of Raider Nation. I understand why. You draft a quarterback first overall, you tie the franchise to him, and somewhere in your head, he’s the Week 1 starter by default. It rarely works like that, and it isn’t working like that here. The phrase Kubiak used, “right now,” is the tell. He’s describing the room as it exists in late May, not making a promise about September.
What that room looks like is Cousins running it. He knows the system Kubiak is installing because he’s run it before, and during practice, he’s the one organizing the move-the-ball work and keeping the operation clean. Mendoza is learning to live inside that standard rather than reset it around himself. He’s happy to learn from Cousins, as he’s said, and it seems genuine.
How long Cousins starts, if he does, is unknown. Mendoza is a sponge and he’s happy to absorb and be ready. Tom Brady has been public about his views that today’s NFL rushes quarterback prospects too quickly. The Raiders aren’t doing that here, and that shows a commitment to a plan and long-term development of their new franchise player.
Related: ‘Every Ball Is a Dart’: Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit Make Stunning Fernando Mendoza Comparison
How Fernando Mendoza Has Reacted
The rookie is doing fine, for what it’s worth. Kubiak has talked up his preparation and how quickly he corrects himself from one session to the next and there was a team period in which Mendoza completed 7-of-9 throws, looking decisive and on schedule. The arm was never in doubt coming out of Indiana. He’s also leaning on people who’ve been there. Brady, the minority owner, met with Mendoza at the rookie premiere, and Mendoza said he filled a notepad with what Brady told him about leadership, mostly that it comes down to caring about your teammates and the team winning rather than personal accolades. He said he planned to reread the notes that night.
None of that answers the part that actually decides this: reps and live evaluation. Asking a 22-year-old to run an NFL offense in September is a real ask, and the Raiders’ schedule makes it harder. The early stretch is brutal and the bye doesn’t arrive until Week 13. Coaches usually like easing a first-time starter in with a softer matchup or waiting until after a bye to give him extra prep and neither option is really available here. So the cautious read says Cousins opens the year and Mendoza waits.
Kubiak isn’t committing to any of it yet.
“It’s going to reveal itself, especially in training camp,” he said. “But it’s going to reveal itself here in these next OTAs and minicamp practices. Let the players figure that out for us with their tape.”
If you believe the building and the contract, Cousins starts against Miami on Sept. 13 and that’s probably the right bet. They didn’t hand him that money to mentor a kid. But Kubiak left the door open on purpose, Mendoza keeps putting good tape on the pile and the only thing worth watching between now and camp is whose hands the first-team reps end up in. That’s the answer. Everything before it is just talk.
