Raiders had Mendoza plan even without Cousins trade, NFL Network reports
The No. 1 pick could have started against Cleveland after two Raiders losses, under the plan described to NFL Network.
The Las Vegas Raiders intended to start No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza within weeks even without a Kirk Cousins trade, sources told NFL Network, ESPN reported.
Mendoza would have taken over Nov. 29 against the Cleveland Browns if Las Vegas lost Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks and again to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 22, under the plan described to NFL Network. The move was particularly likely, ESPN reported, if those two defeats made a playoff run an uphill battle.
The Raiders had publicly maintained that they had a plan for Mendoza, while keeping its details private. They traded Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday in exchange for a 2027 third-round draft pick.
Mendoza now is scheduled to make his first NFL start Sunday against Seattle, the defending Super Bowl champion, with the Raiders at 4-5.
“He practices extremely well and his work habits also allowed us to make this trade because we feel that he's ready to go,” coach Klint Kubiak said when the Raiders announced the quarterback change.
Kubiak said Mendoza will have access to the full playbook. His teammates know he is prepared, Kubiak said, because Mendoza has demonstrated it in practice.
According to ESPN, the Raiders believe Mendoza works even harder than they anticipated and consider him ready in part because of his work with veteran quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan. Mendoza and Sullivan have worked closely together since the spring.
As Cousins took first-team practice reps, Mendoza stood apart with Sullivan, called each play and worked through his footwork as though he were under center.
They took a similar approach during games. From 30 yards away, Mendoza practiced the play call and checks alongside Sullivan before watching Cousins execute the play. After every practice, Mendoza and Sullivan reviewed film of his scout-team work, with Mendoza repeating plays when mistakes occurred.
Sullivan credited Mendoza for steady improvement in his command of the offense and his communication both in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.
Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Indiana. In his final college season, he completed 72% of his passes and led the nation with 41 touchdown passes.
His lone regular-season NFL appearance to date came against New England, when he completed 75% of his passes for 48 yards.
Some within the Raiders wanted to retain Cousins beyond the trade deadline as recently as last weekend, Newsweek reported, citing ESPN's Dan Graziano. That would have kept Mendoza on the bench for several more games, potentially through the Week 13 bye.
Minnesota had approached the Raiders before last weekend, but did not believe a trade was possible until after that Sunday.
Cousins started all nine Raiders games this season, compiling a 97.1 passer rating. He returns to Minnesota after spending six seasons with the Vikings, from 2018 through 2023.
The Vikings were 6-2 when they acquired Cousins and needed quarterback help because Kyler Murray was dealing with a hamstring injury. In Murray's absence against Buffalo, Carson Wentz completed eight of 25 passes and threw no touchdowns.
After Mendoza's scheduled first start against Seattle on Sunday, the Raiders face Denver on Nov. 22.
