Fernando Mendoza was back sharing first-team reps with Kirk Cousins at practice today, and there continues to be speculation that Mendoza could end up being the Raiders starting quarterback by the start of the season.
At least one beat writer covering the team has been reporting that Mendoza has a real chance to win the starting job, but NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport tapped the brakes on that storyline a little after Tuesday’s practice.
“My understanding it it’s still Kirk Cousins to be the starter for the Las Vegas Raiders. That has been the plan throughout. They have announced it. They’ve been very clear. I don’t believe that has changed at all,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s The Insiders.
“But if you were wondering why Klint Kubiak and the Raiders organization wants to get Fernando Mendoza those snaps with the first team, I can’t explain it better than the no. 1 overall pick did. You got to get in and out of the huddle. You got to do it at the speed that is required with the starters. And yes, it is a little bit faster… there are different levels and bringing Fernando Mendoza along the right way means you have to elevate his game just a little bit.”
“It does sound, based on my understanding, like today a really good day. He made some good throws. Someone I spoke to who was watching this said they noticed how well he does so many of the little things. It is all positive. This is a very good day for the Raiders because [Mendoza] will help. It just doesn’t seem like it is going to be right away in the 2026 season.”
Cousins is slated to be the starting quarterback on Thursday night when the Raiders take on the Texans and it’s going to be especially interesting to see how Cousins and Mendoza play against arguably the best defense in the NFL.
If Mendoza plays as well as Cousins against the Texans, it’s going to create an interesting conversation going into the third preseason game.
Every indication has been that Cousins has outplayed Mendoza in OTAs and training camp, but it sounds from the outside like Mendoza has been closing the gap in recent weeks.
Another detail to keep an eye on as the Raiders get closer to the season is that their October schedule is incredibly difficult.
Klint Kubiak and company have a real chance to win two games in September, but October’s schedule is brutal with home games against Chiefs, Bills and Rams, and a road game against the defending AFC Champion Patriots.
As Rich Eisen pointed out on his show this week, the softest landing spot for Mendoza to start won’t come until after Thanksgiving, and the next best window in terms of opponents probably comes in the first three games of the season.
Will the Raiders want to wait until week 12 to start Mendoza?
In theory, the Browns and then a bye week would be a nice starting spot for Mendoza, but if Mendoza is ready, would the Raiders be wasting three months (11 games) by keeping him on the sideline?
For now, the plan is to stick with Cousins, and Thursday’s game could go a long way towards cementing that plan.
But if Mendoza dazzles in his second preseason game, the timeline on his first regular season start will only move forward… and once he starts his first regular season game in Silver & Black, there’s no looking back.
If you’re going to catch only one Raiders preseason game this year… Thursday’s will be the one to watch.
x: @raidersbeat