New Fernando Mendoza QB Plan Teased By Raiders' Klint Kubiak After NFL Preseason Opener

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said all three Raider quarterbacks—Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza and Aidan O'Connell—deserve time with the first team.

"That's something that we're talking about as a coaching staff right now," Kubiak said to reporters on Friday, per ESPN's Ryan McFadden. "Whether it's Aidan O'Connell, Kirk or Fernando, all three of those guys deserve first-team reps. We've got to put a plan together on how we're going to split them up."

Although the trio of signal-callers will get those starter reps, Cousins appears to have the QB1 job in hand. Kubiak hasn't declared him as such, but all signs point in that direction.

"(Cousins) has been getting all the reps with the ones," Kubiak said Thursday after his team's 27-14 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I think he's had a solid training camp.

"It's his job to lose."

Cousins was the first Raider QB on the field Thursday.

Mendoza, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, made his preseason debut after replacing Cousins. He completed 10-of-16 passes for 97 yards and a six-yard touchdown pass to second-year wide receiver Jack Bech in the second quarter.

Kubiak liked what he saw.

"I see an ascending player," Kubiak said about Mendoza, per McFadden. "We just got to keep getting better."

While Mendoza represents the future of the Raider franchise, by all accounts, he'll be waiting in the wings for now as Cousins helps lead the Silver and Black into a new era under Kubiak, a first-year head coach who served as the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator last season.

The Raiders open 2026 on Sunday, Sept. 13 at home versus the Miami Dolphins.