Could the Raiders end up starting Fernando Mendoza early in the season?
Every indication is that the plan in Las Vegas is to let Mendoza sit behind Kirk Cousins as long as possible, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is the latest league insider to leave the door open to the idea of Mendoza being the Raiders’ QB1 sooner than later.
“Do they really have a QB battle is an interesting conversation,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s The Insiders.
“Obviously Fernando Mendoza was the no. 1 overall pick. It certainly seems like the way they are planning, the way they are hoping for it to all be, is for Kirk Cousins to be the starter at the beginning of the season, throughout the season, at the end of the season because that means he is playing well. He has stayed healthy and that means Fernando Mendoza can just sit there and learn.”
“If that is the way it goes for the Raiders, that is absolutely fine. But it’s not a guarantee,” Rapoport continued.
“The reason I say that is because we have seen this in the past. You say we’re going to sit this rookie. He’s probably not going to play. He’s going to learn. What if Mendoza hits the ground running so fast and so well that they say, ‘This guy has to play.'”
“It might not be game one but it could be early in the season and if that is the case for the Raiders. that also is excellent news. It does make it a little awkward in the QB room, but still news that the no. 1 overall pick is exactly who they hope he will be.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared similar sentiment to Rapoport a few weeks ago, and the California Post’s Vinny Bonsignore said last month he wouldn’t rule out Mendoza starting the first regular season game of the season.
“I think that there’s people in that building who fully expect Fernando to put himself right in the running to start day one. Flat out, I don’t think there won’t be any hesitation to start him if that is the case and there’s people in the building [that] kind of fully expect that to be the case,” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate.
“So I’m not ruling out rule week one and… I think it would almost be a waste not to play him this year, because I’m looking at 2027 as the year where things really in a powerful way for the Raiders, they are really announcing themselves. So why would you wait until 2027 or late in this season and [to] not take full advantage of this year as a development year for Fernando Mendoza on the football field, not behind the scenes watching Kurt Cousins?”
“I think that would be my preference and I think that there are people in the building that are going to be open minded about, okay, if he’s ready to go out there and acquit himself and he’s not going to get destroyed by the offensive line and we feel good about that part of it, I feel like they’ll make that decision. Now we’ll have to wait and see because anything can happen in training camp one way or the other, but they are open minded about getting him on the field as quickly as possible.”
David Carr says the Mendoza hype is real
The Carr family has weighed in a lot on Mendoza over the last few months and David Carr said earlier this month that the excitement around Mendoza in the Raiders’ building isn’t just smoke and mirrors.
Carr said he talked to Raiders quarterback coach Mike Sullivan about Mendoza’s development and the veteran coach has been genuinely impressed with Mendoza.
“I talked to Mike Sullivan. [He] is very happy and I think I can speak at this point having talked to Mike Sullivan, I feel really good about Fernando,” Carr said on the Home Grown podcast.
“It’s a process… That’s basically what the conversation was like… [Sullivan] is going to be right there with Fernando every day digging into the work. I already know Sullivan digs into the tape. They’re prepared. That’s one thing they’re going to be is prepared and he’s extremely happy with what’s happening with Fernando. But, like you said, it’s a process. Long way to go, and so that’s all I wanted to find out from him.”
It’s not going to happen. And if it does will be campaigning for the first pick in the draft next year..