On Wednesday, the Raiders announced Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback, and reviews have been mixed on whether Cousins starting is the best decision for Fernando Mendoza‘s development.
Jon Gruden talked about the Raiders quarterback situation this week and said he believes the process was predetermined, which would line up with what The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen said a week ago – the decision to start Cousins was made even before Mendoza was on the roster.
Gruden said he thinks Cousins will be a good mentor for Mendoza, but the decision to start Cousins still surprised him.
“I think they premeditated this whole thing,” Gruden told Barstool Sports on Friday.
“They’ve got Kubiak there calling the plays as the head coach. Tom Brady is walking around there. They have a pretty good idea what they want to do. They bring in Kirk Cousins. Cousins had some really good seasons playing for Kubiak in Minnesota, so I think he’s going to be the mentor. He’ll be the guy that shows Mendoza the routine of the NFL, how to prepare for these teams.”
“But I am kind of surprised. I was thinking Fernando would want to get all the reps. When you’re the scout team quarterback, it’s hard to get better. You can get so much better in the meeting room, but the best way to get better is on the field. But he did turn the ball over a couple of times. He took a bunch of sacks at California the year before he got to Indiana. So I think dealing with the hot pockets, handling the line of scrimmage, the recognition, the communication, probably going to take a little bit of time. But I do see around midseason; I think you’ll see Fernando at some point.”
Gruden knows quarterbacks better than most, but it’s a safe assumption that Mendoza isn’t going to have a typical “scout team quarterback” experience.
Everyone in the building knows Mendoza is the future, and Kubiak will find ways to develop him through the week.
Amy Trask thinks the Raiders made the right call on Mendoza
The “Princess of Darkness” weighed in on the Raiders’ quarterback situation this week and said the decision makers in Las Vegas will be wise to get the roster sorted out before putting Mendoza on the field.
“I like the decision to sit Fernando,” Trask said on CBS Sports Network.
“You drafted him with the No. 1 pick, presumably because you believe him to be your quarterback of the future. So you need to balance short-term with long-term. And my understanding is that Klint Kubiak is putting an emphasis on long-term planning, long-term success. And I think that speaks highly of Klint. Sit Fernando; there’s a number of variables as to when you should be starting him. You can take all those variables into account and make the decision when it’s right.”
x: @raidersbeat
Stop with placing Gruden as some QB guru. He does not know QB’s better than most. You tell me WHEN did Gruden EVER draft and groom a QB. Just because espn was delusional enough to give him a QB show for soon to be draftees does not mean he possessed some unique knowledge and understanding of QB’s. Remember how high Gruden was on Johnny Manziel.