Overview
- Head coach Klint Kubiak said the starting quarterback choice will be decided by on-field work and that the answer should become clear during training camp, citing progress seen in recent OTAs.
- Kirk Cousins is functioning as the club’s veteran QB1 and first-team rep in OTAs while Aidan O’Connell holds the QB2 role and Mendoza takes third- and fourth-unit reps.
- Fernando Mendoza has impressed in early team sessions with a near‑perfect passing showing that one NFL reporter logged as only two incompletions in a practice, though those reps remain non‑contact evaluations.
- ESPN insider reports and schedule analysis note the Raiders face four November road games that make a November rookie debut risky and that the team could keep Cousins as the starter into December before turning to Mendoza.
- Mendoza is receiving high-profile mentorship, including private advice from minority owner Tom Brady, and the Raiders frame their approach as balancing immediate competitiveness with careful long‑term quarterback development.