Fernando Mendoza Explains Why 'It Feels Great' to Be Raiders' QB2 Behind Kirk Cousins

Days away from his first NFL game, albeit as a backup, Las Vegas Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza doesn't mind sitting behind Kirk Cousins right now.

Appearing on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America, Mendoza explained "it feels great" to be No. 2 on the depth chart right now because he is "all for whatever the team wants and whatever is best for the team."

Even before the Raiders selected Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft, they strongly indicated he would not open the season as their starting quarterback.

Cousins signed a one-year, $20 million deal with the Raiders in April.

One interesting note coming out of the Raiders' final preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers was head coach Klint Kubiak telling reporters that Mendoza needed more reps, but it would be difficult to do because regular-season practices limit how much action backup quarterbacks get.

"He needs another three preseason games, and all those rookies do," Kubiak said. "Now that the season is starting, the practice reps get smaller and that's just life. But us as coaches, we've got to get them ready to play and keep developing."

Mendoza is learning to play an entirely different style of offense compared to what he ran in college at Indiana. He took more under-center snaps in his first two days of rookie minicamp than he did in his entire college career.

Just because Mendoza won't open the season as the Raiders' starter, it would be a huge surprise if he doesn't play at some point. The last quarterback taken No. 1 overall who started fewer than seven games as a rookie was JaMarcus Russell in 2007.

The Raiders having a Week 13 bye does potentially complicate things because that leaves a long time to get Mendoza on the field, but their pre-bye schedule includes matchups with the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos that maybe want to be avoided.

Mendoza is the long-term future for the Raiders, with the only question being how long does he have to wait before getting to showcase his ability for the franchise.

For now, though, Mendoza will wait patiently while trying to help Cousins and the Raiders in the early stages of the 2026 season. They will kick things off on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium.