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It may have been his plan all along heading into his first year as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, but Klint Kubiak confirmed who will be his starting quarterback entering training camp this week.
It’s veteran Kirk Cousins, not Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders’ first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
“When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback. He’s the right guy and he’ll get a ton of reps. He deserves them because he’s played very good football,” Kubiak told reporters, via NFL.com. “But I love Fernando and I love Aidan. [O’Connell] to push him.”
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Kirk Cousins of the Las Vegas Raiders practices during an OTA offseason workout at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center on June 3, 2026, in Henderson, Nevada. (Getty Images)
Fans and media were not eagerly awaiting Kubiak’s decision, as he has been forthright 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 start training camp.
While coaches can lead training camp with players in starting roles, nothing is final until players take the field in Week 1. And that’s exactly Kubiak’s thought process.
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“For every position there has to be competition, right?” he added. “The best player has to play, and that’s not just what I’m going to see. You’ll see it in the preseason games. We as coaches will see who the best guard is, the best quarterback, across the board.
“There are battles everywhere in the squad. It is important for me to be fair to the players and choose the best player.”
Kubiak has noted in the past that the ideal scenario for the Raiders is for Cousins to start and Mendoza to develop and learn from the 14-year-old signal-caller ahead of him on the depth chart.
Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins of the Las Vegas Raiders walk on a field during an OTA offseason workout at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada, on June 3, 2026. (Getty Images)
But could things change if Mendoza surpasses Cousins in training camp? As a first-year head coach, there is no history of a similar scenario with Kubiak, but he appears ready to evaluate every position no matter who is in place.
Cousins was signed by the Raiders just days after Mendoza, who won a national championship with Indiana last season, finally heard his name called first overall after months of speculation about what was going to happen.
And while Cousins may be the man at the top of the depth chart, this will be Mendoza’s team at some point in the future. Kubiak wouldn’t want it to happen right away, but if the time is right for him, his staff and the organization, they will hand him the keys to their No. 1 draft pick.
Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza warm up during mandatory minicamp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada, on June 9, 2026. (Getty Images)
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In the meantime, all three quarterbacks will work hard to build chemistry with their teammates and do so when league-wide training camp begins this week.
The Raiders’ first preseason game will be against the Arizona Cardinals on August 13. They will open the season against the Miami Dolphins on September 13 at home.
