Will Kirk Cousins Be Raiders QB1 After Contract? Rapoport Gives Update amid Fernando Mendoza Rumors

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport feels Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is on track to start next season as QB1 regardless of whether his new franchise selects former Indiana signal caller Fernando Mendoza at the top of the 2026 NFL draft.

"The money seems to indicate that Kirk Cousins, or maybe should, end up being the starting quarterback to begin the 2026 season, even with the Raiders likely selecting Fernando Mendoza," Rapoport said at about the 1:10 mark of the clip below.

Cousins joined the Raiders on Thursday with a contract that includes $20 million in guaranteed money for 2026, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

He could receive another $10 million in fully guaranteed money if he remains on the Raiders roster three days into the 2027 league year next March, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The contract could be worth a total of $172 million over five years, per Schefter, although Pelissero noted the Raiders are "unlikely" to pick up Cousins' two-year, $80 million option for 2027 and 2028.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said during this week's annual league meetings in Phoenix that his "perfect" scenario would be for Mendoza to start out his NFL career learning behind a veteran quarterback.

"I think ideally you don't want him to start from Day 1," Kubiak said Tuesday about his philosophy on rookie quarterbacks. "You'd love for him to be able to learn behind somebody. That's in a perfect world, I know. Like I said before, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes they have to play from Day 1, and it's out job as a coach to get them ready to go.

"I think it does help the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show."

Kubiak has a connection to his new quarterback through the Minnesota Vikings, where he spent two seasons as quarterbacks coach and one as offensive coordinator while Cousins was playing for the team from 2019 to 2021.

That past experience may have convinced Kubiak that Cousins is the right veteran quarterback to serve in the mentorship role he described as the Raiders prepare to potentially draft Mendoza on April 23 in Pittsburgh.