In the least surprising news possible, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak finally named Kirk Cousins the team's starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, as if that was any mystery.
The prevailing question now is how many games Cousins will start before giving way to rookie Fernando Mendoza, and everyone has thoughts on that. But Cousins knows what he signed up for, and there will be no issues when it comes time for him to pass the baton.
Kubiak also made it clear right away that a rookie quarterback would not be rushed into action, if at all possible. When it came to choosing a veteran to pair with that rookie, the history he and offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko have with Cousins made the choice very obvious.
Raider Nation understandably wants to see Mendoza as soon as possible, but there's plenty of highly-drafted quarterback history that says patience can be a virtue. And for all of his flaws, actual or merely perceived, Cousins is still a starting-caliber quarterback who can hold down the fort.
That may not be exciting, but that's what the Silver & Black have been missing.
Kirk Cousins isn't exciting or a long-term solution (but he's what the Raiders need)
Former Dan Patrick Show colleagues Andrew Perloff and Paul Pabst have a new show called Not So Fast. In the wake of Cousins officially being named the Raiders' opening weekend starter, Perloff offered a "warm take."
"My first warm take today is about Kirk Cousins," Perloff said. "Now, Kirk Cousins named the starter in Las Vegas. I think everyone's waiting for him to lose a few games and yield the floor to Fernando Mendoza.
"I gotta tell ya right now, Kirk Cousins is gonna be better than you think. I'm gonna call it 'Commitment to Competence' in Vegas with the Raiders. No 'Commitment to Excellence,' but competence."
Perloff cited the years 2019-2021, when Cousins and Kubiak were together with the Minnesota Vikings, as a reason for optimism. Kubiak was the offensive coordinator in the last of those three seasons, and Cousins had the second-best passing touchdown total (33), the lowest interception rate (1.2 percent) and the fourth-best passer rating of his career (103.1).
In all three seasons that Kubiak was on the Vikings' staff, the first two as quarterbacks coach, Cousins posted a passer rating north of 100.
Since Derek Carr's last season with the team in 2022, the Raiders have been searching for quarterback play that could even be called competent or NFL-level. It's not a good thing that Aidan O'Connell is the best quarterback they've had over the last three seasons.
Cousins is the milquetoast veteran placeholder for Mendoza, nothing more and nothing less. Frankly, Raiders fans should embrace the concept of boring, solid, and yes, competent play under center for however long it occurs before Mendoza steps in.
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