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Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins.
When Kirk Cousins got through the opening wave of free agency without finding a team, he seemed destined to join the Las Vegas Raiders. He had worked with new head coach Klint Kubiak on the Minnesota Vikings, and rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza has often been compared to Cousins.
Even with the Raiders using the No. 1 pick on a quarterback, Cousins decided to join the team. There’s a good chance he could be the starter in Las Vegas this season, but Mendoza is the future of the team.
Cousins is well aware of that fact, but he has been embracing the quarterback competition. He has been working with Mendoza since he got drafted and had a chance to offer his first impressions of the young quarterback.
“Tremendous player, tremendous person, looking forward to working together,” Cousins told Taylor Rocha. “I think we’ll be a great support system to one another and hopefully I can kind of help lead the way to introduce him to the NFL and get him started on what’s gonna be a great career.”
Cousins will have the edge to start heading into training camp due to his familiarity with Kubiak’s offense, but it sounds like he’s still going to work closely with Mendoza to make sure he’s developing in the process.
EXCLUSIVE: If you’re an Uber driver in Las Vegas… keep an eye out for Kirk Cousins 😂🏴☠️
The new #Raiders QB told me he’s: 🎰 Trying to “blend in” around town 🏠 House hunting in Henderson 🏒 Taking in #ForgedInGold playoff hockey
Plus: 🏈 First impressions of Fernando Mendoza
Cousins may have prior knowledge of Kubiak’s offense, but Mendoza is a perfect fit in the system. Plus, he’s a very smart player, so he should learn it quickly.
Mendoza may not be the most athletically exciting prospect ever, but he’s exactly what Kubiak’s system calls for at quarterback. ESPN’s Jordan Reid detailed why Mednoza is a perfect fit in Las Vegas.
“Dating to his time at Cal and progressing through last season at Indiana, Mendoza has experienced multiple offenses,” Reid wrote. “When required to, Mendoza showed he is capable of operating a versatile scheme that demands exhausting multistep progressions where he can get to third and fourth options in passing concepts. So Mendoza fits well into Klint Kubiak’s offense, which will require him to operate off play-action. He finished 2025 with a 73.4% completion percentage on play-action throws.”
Mendoza has proven he can be a good quarterback in the right system. The NFL is a different beast than college, but there’s no reason to believe Mendoza can’t succeed.
The biggest thing that can derail his if the Raiders fail to put the right pieces around him. While the team does need more work, ESPN’s Ryan McFadden thinks they’re off to a good start.
“The Raiders have already made significant strides to set up Mendoza for success,” McFadden wrote. “Outside of hiring Kubiak, they signed center Tyler Linderbaum and improved the defense through the draft and free agency. Another helpful element will be finding consistency in the running game after finishing last in the league in rushing yards per attempt in each of the past two seasons. An uptick in production from Ashton Jeanty and fourth-round pick Mike Washington Jr. developing into a reliable second backfield option would help Mendoza’s transition even more.”
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at "The Shop." More about Austin Boyd
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