If things go according to the current plan, spoken directly by Klint Kubiak, Kirk Cousins will be the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback to begin the 2026 NFL season. Exactly how many starts he makes before giving way to rookie Fernando Mendoza, however, is an open question.
It stands to reason that it will be more than just one or two, but there's also a chance that Mendoza proves himself worthy of the throne immediately during training camp and whatever preseason action he sees.
That may also be paired with Cousins not looking very good, but it would mostly be Mendoza showing himself to be the best man for the job. The best-case scenario is Mendoza beating out a solid-looking Cousins, and that possibility has not been dismissed by anyone, as it should not be.
There is surely some fear about ruining a young quarterback by rushing him into action when the situation around him is not necessarily ideally built out. But if Mendoza shows he's worthy of starting over Cousins, it will be out in the open for all to see during camp and could cause some good tension.
Raiders should welcome depth chart tension Fernando Mendoza can provide
During a recent episode of PFT Live, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk fleshed out that last note.
"There's a belief out there that Kirk Cousins is going to be the starter Week 1," Florio said. "And they're going to let Fernando Mendoza sit and watch and learn. That may be fine in theory, but when you're out on the practice field, if Mendoza is clearly better than Kirk Cousins -- this deep into his career, at this age, late 30s -- and you've got some grand strategic plan that you're going to let him sit for a year, what's Maxx Crosby going to say about that?
"What's Brock Bowers going to say about that? What's any veteran player going to say?
"The NFL has evolved to the ultimate one-year-at-a-time sport," Florio continued. "We have a guy who we can all tell in every practice is better than Kirk Cousins as of right now. But you've got this plan that you're going to groom Fernando Mendoza by having him not play? By deliberately choosing the lesser guy to be the quarterback? Good luck with that one, Klint Kubiak. I just don't buy it."
The training camp competition between Cousins and Mendoza, to whatever level it takes root, will be about as contentious between the two guys as eating a slice of apple pie, which is to say not at all, at least in terms of there being any bad blood or it being cutthroat in nature.
But other players will certainly notice if one is clearly better than the other on the practice field. If that player is Mendoza, and Cousins is still named the starter, Kubiak could lose credibility in Las Vegas before he's really had a chance to build much of it as a head coach.
On the other hand, everyone involved with the Raiders would welcome Mendoza creating some legit competitive tension when it comes to the easy expectation that Cousins will start Week 1.
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