The Las Vegas Raiders are heading into 2026 with two strong quarterbacks on their roster: rookie Fernando Mendoza and veteran Kirk Cousins. So, who will get the start?
It’s likely that Cousins, with his years of experience in the NFL, will start for the Raiders come September. All bets are off as to when Mendoza could step up and take over as the starting quarterback. Mendoza is expected to eventually become the team’s franchise quarterback, but development takes time in the NFL, even when you’re a Heisman Trophy winner.
Ahead of the new season, Aaron Schatz of ESPN has released his list of the league’s most likely turnarounds for 2026. He includes the Raiders but with a stern warning for the franchise and Mendoza.
Development could take time, even for Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza
In the feature, Schatz writes that the Raiders are a situation where a comeback in 2026 is a “maybe but probably not.” While there’s lots of excitement surrounding Mendoza and Cousins in Las Vegas, he warns that training Mendoza will take time.
“First of all, you have to expect that rookie QBs will be bad,” he notes in the piece. “Yes, even first overall picks. (Again, Cam Ward was last in QBR last season.) The Raiders haven’t even said if they will start Fernando Mendoza. It seems likely that the job will go to Kirk Cousins, at least in Week 1.”
He adds that the “maybe” of the situation is that rookies have been breakout stars, citing C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels, adding that “Mendoza certainly has a chance to be very good and put the Raiders into the playoffs in 2026. Probably not, but maybe.”
Of course, the biggest picture is that Mendoza has to have a strong offense surrounding him. The Raiders will test their new offense this fall, and that’s when we’ll get a clearer picture of what to expect from Mendoza and this entire team.