The Las Vegas Raiders have two very different quarterbacks this season: veteran Kirk Cousins and rookie Fernando Mendoza. These players hail from totally different generations, with Cousins being 37 and Mendoza being 22. But, they both have the same goal, and that’s to help redeem the Raiders franchise and make it a contender again.
It won’t be easy. But it helps that the Raiders have both Cousins and Mendoza, as well as partial owner Tom Brady and new head coach Klint Kubiak from the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks.
Mendoza comes to the Raiders having already won a championship for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Heisman Trophy. But, we’re not in college anymore, Mendoza. It’s a huge leap from college football to the NFL, and that’s where Cousins is helping Mendoza adjust.
Fernando Mendoza says he’s already learning from Kirk Cousins
There’s hype about the Cousins vs. Mendoza narrative. People like to pit these two against each other in a quarterback competition. But, the reality is that Cousins is the veteran in place for now, and Mendoza is the player expected to eventually become the franchise quarterback down the road. So, it’s really not a competition.
With that in mind, it makes sense that Mendoza says he’s already being mentored by Cousins.
“He is definitely helping me a lot,” Mendoza said in a video released by the Raiders. “He has been in this offense before. So, he already has a little bit of an upper hand in a sense where he has been able to teach the other quarterbacks and have experience with the plays, not just in practice, not just in scrimmages, but in actual games.”
Mendoza adds: “He sees how these plays have played out. He has had experience with Coach Kubiak, which has been so interesting to see.”
So, these two are working together, not against each other, as the new season gets closer. They both want what’s best for the franchise, no matter who gets the start.