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Las Vegas Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza.

Fernando Mendoza is finally a member of the Las Vegas Raiders after months of speculation. Even before he takes a snap for the team, he’s going to be the most talked-about player all offseason.

However, the Raiders could make the world wait to see what he looks like during a real NFL game. The team signed Kirk Cousins in free agency, and they’ve expressed that it’s preferable to start a veteran over a rookie at the beginning of the season.

Cousins is a proven player who knows head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense well, but he’s going to be 38 when the season starts and hasn’t been a high-level quarterback for a couple of years.

There’s a very good chance that Mendoza is simply the better quarterback in training camp. If that’s the case, the Raiders can’t hold him back just because they like the idea of sitting him. Former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards thinks that Las Vegas needs to start Mendoza as a rookie.

“You can’t be afraid,” Edwards said on “Good Morning Football.” “When you draft a guy the No. 1 pick in the draft, you’re gonna say, ‘Well, you’re gonna hold a clipboard now for like a year or two and watch Kirk.’ No, you’re not. Go play. If he’s ready to play, play him.”

Would Should Mendoza Start?

At the end of the day, the Raiders likely aren’t going to compete for a playoff spot this season, so the best move for the franchise is to focus on setting the team up for the future. If they feel that the offensive line and wide receivers aren’t good enough to set Mendoza up for success, then it might be better to let Cousins take the hits early in the year.

Garrett Podell of CBS Sports singled out Week 3 as the perfect time for Mendoza to make his debut.

“It will be incredibly invaluable for Mendoza to observe Cousins’ game-week routine that’s allowed him to enter his 15th NFL season in 2026, but there will become a point where the first overall pick will need to play in order to truly develop,” Podell wrote. “That ideal point would probably be Week 3 at the New Orleans Saints. Doing so would allow Mendoza to see how Cousins prepares to face both a rebuilding team like the Dolphins and a 2025 playoff team with a stout defense like the Los Angeles Chargers before taking the field himself against another rebuilding team in the Saints.”

Cousins Wants to Earn Starting Job

Cousins has made it clear that the Raiders haven’t promised him the starting job. He still has to prove that he’s the better option. If Mendoza ends up being the better choice, he will accept that result.

“I don’t want to start unless I’m the best option. I told [head coach] Klint [Kubiak] that the best player should play,” Cousins said previously. “Certainly as long as that’s the case, I have no qualms with however that [the quarterback competition] plays out.”

Luckily for the Raiders, Cousins isn’t the type to start drama if he loses his starting job.