Fernando Mendoza’s Raiders debut may not happen until December, ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggests

Raiders expect Kirk Cousins to start early games over Mendoza

The Las Vegas Raiders plan to open the season with Kirk Cousins at quarterback instead of first overall pick Fernando Mendoza. ESPN analyst Adam Schefter said on his podcast that the team would likely keep the veteran in place through the early months and avoid turning to the rookie during a difficult November stretch. Head coach Klint Kubiak voiced the same preference at the NFL Scouting Combine in March when he stated the ideal scenario would let Mendoza learn behind an established starter.

Schefter highlighted four consecutive games in November that begin with road trips to the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, followed by a home game against the Seattle Seahawks and another road contest at Denver. He noted that such a sequence would not be an opportune time to insert an untested quarterback. The Raiders close that stretch with a road game at Cleveland before their bye week.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion from Indiana, is viewed as the franchise quarterback of the future. The signing of Cousins removes any open competition at the position entering training camp. After the bye the schedule shifts to three straight home games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans, which could provide a more suitable setting for any change at quarterback.

Whether the Raiders maintain that timeline remains to be seen, yet the current arrangement points to Cousins handling the bulk of the early season workload while Mendoza continues his adjustment to the professional level.