As well-established by head coach Klint Kubiak, Fernando Mendoza is not very likely to be the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins. Kirk Cousins is likely to be the guy, at least for a few games, before giving way to the rookie.
Of course, the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft could simply prove he's the best man for the job during training camp, and that possibility is being left vaguely open. But he'll need to step things up if he wants to even be considered.
There are opposing schools of thought regarding when Mendoza should play. Some, like former head coach Herm Edwards, say he should play immediately. Others say he would benefit from sitting out his entire rookie season, assuming Cousins is healthy and performing well.
Reality sits somewhere between Week 1 of this season and Week 1 of the 2027 season for Mendoza to make his first start. And it's likely to be on the earlier side of that equation, due to how late the Raiders' bye week is this season.
Greg Olsen perfectly captures the nuances of the Raiders' QB situation
During a recent appearance on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, FOX analyst Greg Olsen was asked how he would handle the Raiders' quarterback situation. He had a lot of thoughts, as anyone who has played and/or watched and calls as many games as Olsen has would expect.
However, he ultimately leans one way with an important caveat.
"I have always been of the school of thought of you let them play," Olsen said. "You get them out as soon as you can because there is nothing like real-time NFL reps. There will be interceptions, there’s gonna be bad plays, but those real-time reps, I think, speeds the development clock up. If you don’t feel like your team is ready to support a young quarterback, and you think it’s gonna be actually counter-productive to their development — you’re not gonna be able to protect them, you’re not gonna be able to get the run game to complement — then I would probably take a step back."
The streets of quarterback development are littered with the carcasses of those who were rushed into action in a less than ideal situation. A huge example is 2002 No. 1 overall pick David Carr, who was sacked a league-record 76 times for the expansion Houston Texans.
He led the league in sacks taken in three of his first four seasons, including another season that's in the top-five all-time. He simply had no shot at becoming the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be. And it derailed his entire career, which seemed to be quite promising.
The Raiders' offensive line can only be better than it was last season, and that should help everything. But Las Vegas needs to see it in action. Ashton Jeanty is a workhorse back who can be a young quarterback's best friend, and Kubiak is a great designer of offense. But this needs to be seen as well.
Along the line of what Olsen said, the Raiders clearly will not rush Mendoza into action if their overall circumstance can't serve him ideally. They also don't have to, with Cousins as an ideal option to keep the seat warm and willingly step aside when it's time.
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