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Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins? Raiders say "best guy will play" in Week One
Apr 15, 2026Michael David SmithPro Football Talk
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The Raiders will not anoint Fernando Mendoza as their starting quarterback immediately after drafting him next week. And they may not make him their starting quarterback in September, either. Raiders General Manager John Spytek said Mendoza and Kirk Cousins — and even Aidan O'Connell — will all have an opportunity to show they deserve the starting job before a Week One starter is named. "Ultimately, this is a meritocracy, and the best guy will play," Spytek said. "It's just really hard to play really well at a young age, but we've seen plenty of quarterbacks do it recently. And how that goes going forward here, we added Kirk, we have Aidan, and we'll see how it goes. But the best man will play." The Raiders haven't officially confirmed they'll draft Mendoza with the first overall pick, but Spytek wasn't exactly hiding it as he talked about wanting rookies to play when they're ready to play. "We all want to see the young guys play, we want to see them play well, but we don't want to put anybody out there, regardless of the position, who's not ready," Spytek said. The last six quarterbacks picked first overall have started Week One of their rookie years. Not since Baker Mayfield in 2018 has a first overall pick started his career on the bench. But Spytek said it's tough for quarterbacks to make the transition from college to the NFL and the Raiders wouldn't want to rush a young quarterback onto the field. "It's a hard position to play, and there's a lot to learn beyond throwing the football and being a good teammate," Spytek said. "A lot of these guys, they live their entire life in shotgun. They don't huddle. So yu really got to teach some of these guys how to run a huddle, how to break a huddle, how to get under center and call a cadence because you see so many of them clap now, too. It's far beyond learning a playbook, which in and of itself is hard enough. When you can be patient — and we all understand there's not a ton of patience in the job that we chose here — but if you can find some level of patience and put people in positions when they're ready, that's the best way forward." If Mendoza is ready, he'll start when the regular season opens in five months. If not, that's why they signed Cousins.