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It may have been his plan all along heading into his first year as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, but Klint Kubiak confirmed who his starting quarterback will be to begin training camp this week.
It’s veteran Kirk Cousins – not Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders’ No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
“When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins in the starting quarterback. He’s the guy, and he’s going to get a ton of reps. He deserves them because he’s played really good football,” Kubiak told the press, via NFL.com. “But I want Fernando and I want Aidan [O’Connell] to push him.”
Fans and media weren’t waiting anxiously for Kubiak’s decision, as he’s been straightforward with his thoughts after taking over as head coach following a Super Bowl-winning season as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator last year. But this solidifies the plan, at least to begin training camp.
While coaches can lead training camp with players in starting roles, nothing is final until players walk on the gridiron Week 1. And that’s exactly Kubiak’s thought process.
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“For every position, there’s gotta be competition, right?” he added. “The best player has to play, and that’s not just what I’m gonna see. You guys are gonna see it in the preseason games. We as coaches, we’re gonna see who the best guard is, the best quarterback, across the board.
“There’s battles everywhere on the roster. It’s important for me to be fair to the players to put the best player out there.”
Kubiak has noted in the past that the ideal scenario for the Raiders is Cousins starting and Mendoza developing and learning from the 14-year signal-caller ahead of him on the depth chart.
But could things change if Mendoza is outperforming Cousins in training camp? As a first-year head coach, there isn’t a track record of a similar scenario with Kubiak, but he seems to be ready to evaluate every position no matter who’s in place.
Cousins was signed by the Raiders just days after Mendoza, who won a national championship with Indiana this past season, finally heard his name called first overall after months of speculation it was going to happen.
And while Cousins may be the man atop the depth chart, this will be Mendoza’s team at some point in the future. Kubiak wouldn’t want it to be right away, but if the time feels right for himself, his staff and the organization, they will hand the keys to their top draft choice.
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In the meantime, all three quarterbacks will be working hard to build chemistry with their teammates and get after it as training camp begins across the league this week.
The Raiders’ first preseason contest will be against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13. They will open the season against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13 at home.
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