{"id":293379,"date":"2026-07-22T15:41:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=293379"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:41:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:41:52","slug":"mendozas-rookie-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/22\/mendozas-rookie-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Rookie Season Plan Sounds Sensible\u2014Until Kirk Cousins Starts Losing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"242\" data-end=\"477\">The Las Vegas Raiders appear to have a sensible plan for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/21\/will-raiders-quarterback-fernando-mendoza-win-rookie-of-the-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Fernando Mendoza\u2019s rookie season:<\/a> Let <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/12\/kirk-cousins-mentor\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kirk Cousins handle the offense<\/a>, and give Mendoza time to adjust and avoid throwing the No. 1 overall pick onto the field before he is prepared.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"479\" data-end=\"504\">It sounds lovely in July.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"506\" data-end=\"638\">The plan will become considerably less comfortable if Cousins loses three consecutive games and Mendoza&#8217;s rookie season continues with him on the sideline.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"506\" data-end=\"638\">Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Rookie Season Plan Sounds Sensible\u2014Until Kirk Cousins Starts Losing<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"640\" data-end=\"938\">According to may NFL analysts, the Raiders hope Cousins can remain their starting quarterback throughout the 2026 season. That does not mean Mendoza has no opportunity to play.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"1162\">That flexibility will be necessary. The Raiders can enter training camp with a preferred timeline, but Mendoza\u2019s rookie season cannot be governed by a promise made before either quarterback takes a preseason snap.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;God bless. Go Raiders.&quot; <br \/>Fernando Mendoza reflects on winning Best College Athlete in Men&#39;s Sports at the 2026 ESPY Awards \u2935\ufe0f<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tDZ3uF8ppS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/tDZ3uF8ppS<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9Sj3Ph0PK4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/9Sj3Ph0PK4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Raiders\/status\/2077831470773928399?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"krsuos\" data-start=\"1164\" data-end=\"1213\">Raiders Have Good Reason to Start Kirk Cousins<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1215\" data-end=\"1296\">Las Vegas did not sign Cousins merely to serve as a well-paid quarterbacks coach.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1298\" data-end=\"1566\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CousKi00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">37-year-old started eight games<\/a> for the Atlanta Falcons last season, completing 61.7% of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also spent time with new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raiders.com\/team\/coaches-roster\/klint-kubiak\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak<\/a>, who previously coached Cousins with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBZSHso1xU\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5536px; aspect-ratio: 5536\/3117;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1568\" data-end=\"1777\">That familiarity should allow Cousins to run Kubiak\u2019s offense immediately. Mendoza, meanwhile, is moving from Indiana to an NFL system while carrying every expectation attached to being selected first overall.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1779\" data-end=\"1990\">Allowing him to watch, learn and gradually earn more responsibility could be beneficial. A rookie quarterback does not need to start immediately just because the league has grown addicted to instant evaluations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1992\" data-end=\"2062\">The problem is that patience becomes scarce when a team starts losing, and that is where Mendoza&#8217;s rookie season may look different.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1992\" data-end=\"2062\">Las Vegas also has to consider what Mendoza would gain from spending his entire rookie season on the bench. A few months behind Cousins could help him learn the offense, adjust to NFL defenses and correct weaknesses without every mistake becoming a national discussion. Eventually, however, observation reaches its limit.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1992\" data-end=\"2062\">The Raiders drafted Mendoza to become their franchise quarterback, and meaningful late-season snaps could leave him better prepared for 2027 than another six Sundays spent wearing a headset.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"1xgvrpx\" data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2120\">Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Rookie Season Could Change Quickly<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2122\" data-end=\"2341\">If Cousins plays well and keeps Las Vegas competitive, there is no reason to force Mendoza onto the field. He can learn without absorbing the physical punishment and public criticism that often greet young quarterbacks.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2343\" data-end=\"2403\">If the Raiders begin 2-6, however, the conversation changes.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2405\" data-end=\"2693\">Every Cousins interception would bring another round of questions about Mendoza. Every uninspiring offensive performance would make the rookie more appealing. Fans rarely chant for patience when the first overall pick is holding a clipboard behind a quarterback nearing his 38th birthday.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2695\" data-end=\"2896\">Cousins has endured this situation before. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a> drafted Michael Penix Jr. shortly after signing Cousins to a massive contract in 2024. Once Cousins struggled, the Falcons eventually made the switch.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2898\" data-end=\"3147\">The Raiders should not rush Mendoza simply to quiet an angry crowd. They also cannot protect their original plan at the expense of valuable development. At some point, taking real snaps will teach Mendoza more than another month of watching Cousins.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3149\" data-end=\"3249\">Mendoza\u2019s rookie season may begin on the bench, and that could be exactly where he belongs.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3251\" data-end=\"3334\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Keeping him there for all 17 games will require Cousins to give Las Vegas a reason.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3251\" data-end=\"3334\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><strong>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/17\/top-ranked-quarterback-mahomes\/\" target=\"_self\">The quarterback saga in Las Vegas is not the only one brewing right now. How did Patrick Mahomes react to Josh Allen taking the number one spot in ESPN&#8217;s annual quarterback rating?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3251\" data-end=\"3334\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><em>Main Photo Courtesy of Kirby Lee &#8211; Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Las Vegas Raiders appear to have a sensible plan for Fernando Mendoza\u2019s rookie season: Let Kirk Cousins handle the offense, and give Mendoza time to adjust and avoid throwing the No. 1 overall pick onto the field before he is prepared. It sounds lovely in July. The plan will become considerably less comfortable if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":293432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,17],"tags":[33710,403,7399],"class_list":["post-293379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-raiders","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-kirk-cousins","tag-las-vegas-raiders-news"],"modified_by":"Drew VonScio","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293379"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293434,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293379\/revisions\/293434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}