As it became inevitable that they would take Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the first part of the Las Vegas Raiders' quarterback plan was actually the signing of veteran Kirk Cousins.
The structure of Cousins' contract makes it a one-year deal that would be extended for two more at the Raiders' discretion on the fifth day of the 2027 league year. He'll get $20 million fully guaranteed in 2026, with the Atlanta Falcons picking up a chunk of that. He'll likely move on next offseason.
Cousins, the poster boy for the term "capitalist quarterback," hasn't minded betting on himself (see him willingly signing back-to-back franchise tags in Washington earlier in his career). In his 15th NFL season, under different circumstances than prior occasions, he's doing it once again.
The stakes are high for Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins in 2026
The Athletic tapped their NFL beat writers to name a player on the team that they cover who has the most on the line for the 2026 NFL season. Raiders beat writer Sam Warren chose Cousins, which may seem like an odd pick, but it makes sense, at least for Cousins individually.
"The Raiders appear to have a clear plan at quarterback in place in both the short and long term as Cousins is in line to start the year before No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza eventually succeeds him. The 37-year-old should hope that transition is amicable for the sake of his career. Cousins’ two years with the Falcons weren’t the tidiest, and if inconsistent play follows him to Las Vegas, his 15th season could be his last chance to contribute."
All signs point to the transition from Cousins to Mendoza being as amicable as a transition like that can get. The only possible tension would come via Mendoza showing out during training camp and taking the mantle from Cousins before he gets a chance to play real football.
Assuming the current plan sticks through Raiders training camp, the question will become how many games Cousins starts before giving way to Mendoza. The range of possibilities there is wide, albeit with a slightly narrower window of weeks that feel like the ideal wheelhouse for a transition.
If Cousins only starts a few games, will that be enough to show other teams that he's still a starting-caliber quarterback? If he plays well in that sample of work, that could make him a very tradeable asset for the Raiders if a contending team loses its starter before the deadline.
And if Cousins starts something like 10 games for the Raiders this year and plays well, which would be inherent if he held off the switch to Mendoza for that long, he would more directly bolster his case for some opportunities to be a starter in 2027 and perhaps even beyond.
No matter what, Cousins will be spending just one season in Silver and Black. But how it goes, for better or worse, rooted in how much and how well he plays, will have a big say in how the rest of his career unfolds.
Raider Nation should hope that Cousins plays well enough both to keep the team afloat and to show Mendoza the ropes, all the while proving to the rest of the NFL that he is capable beyond 2026 and worth a draft pick when Las Vegas is ready to move him.
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