With the Raiders officially naming Kirk Cousins the starting quarterback, it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff in Las Vegas keeps Fernando Mendoza involved and still getting practice reps.
That was a concern raised this week by Jon Gruden, and Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers brought up a potential solution he thinks the Raiders could apply to their quarterback room in the days ahead.
On Wednesday, when Cousins arrived late to the practice field, there were theories tossed around right away about why he wasn’t there. Cousins eventually showed up, but Myers said he didn’t think the veteran quarterback seemed happy when he walked onto the field.
Cousins was named the starting quarterback later in the day, and Cousins’ mood on Wednesday was largely forgotten.
The team said Cousins was simply getting a veteran rest day, but as Myers pointed out on his Thursday show, Cousins might not have been happy about the idea of losing practice reps, especially on the day he was named the starter and with the season opener just over a week away.
“That could be why Kirk Cousins was walking angry or looking angry,” Myers said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show.
“Again, I don’t know. He never confirmed that he was angry. It was just my observation of what I felt. Maybe, you know how it is. I mean, starting quarterbacks don’t want to take days off. Starting quarterbacks don’t want to not have reps, especially when you’re 10 days out now from the first game of the season.”
“[Cousins] probably wants every rep that he can get. So when they said that that was part of the plan, the scheduled day off, that might have made Kirk Cousins a little, you know, feel some type of way. Like, ‘Hey, I know you guys want to develop this guy, but I want the reps. I want the time on task. I want the time with these new wire receivers learning this offense.’ I mean, he’s been in the league 15 years for a reason, not because he takes a lot of days off,” Myers continued.
And again, that’s just one thousand percent speculation. But looking at him and only being there for a few minutes, it just seemed like that there was something that he wasn’t too happy with. Let’s put it like that.”
Raiders have to find reps for Mendoza, even while he’s the backup
Whether or not veteran days off will continue to be the plan for Cousins, there’s no question the coaching staff needs to find practice opportunities for Mendoza with the first team offense.
The quarterback room is a delicate situation the Raiders will navigate over the next few weeks (or months), but in the big picture, the focus needs to be on the team’s no. 1 pick.
Remember, it’s all but guaranteed that Mendoza will be the starting quarterback by the end of the season and as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer pointed out in April, there’s almost no chance Cousins will be on the roster beyond this year.
x: @raidersbeat