Overview
- Rookie Fernando Mendoza made his first appearance for the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, Aug. 13, completing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and a 6-yard touchdown in a 27-14 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
- Mendoza flashed tight throws and a scoring drive but also showed rookie errors, including a sack, a missed read and an overthrow on fourth down, with no turnovers recorded.
- Head coach Klint Kubiak and coaches praised Mendoza’s progress yet reiterated that Kirk Cousins remains the frontrunner to start the regular season because he has been given the first-team reps.
- Mendoza responded to his outing by calling it a learning moment, saying he ‘needs to grow a lot,’ and immediately returned to film study as the team maps his development.
- The Raiders plan to use the remaining preseason games on Aug. 20 and Aug. 27 and padded practices to decide Mendoza’s timeline, with his status shaped by in-game reps, coaching standards and roster strategy.