The preseason has ended for the Las Vegas Raiders and Kirk Cousins clearly outplayed rookie first-round pick Fernando Mendoza in those games, but coach Klint Kubiak is stubbornly still refusing to name a starting quarterback.
The rookie coach is refusing to do what everyone knows he will eventually do and name Cousins the starter for the Sept. 13 2025, regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins.
“I still don’t think we need to name anybody,” Kubiak told reporters after Thursday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins watches Fernando Mendoza warm up before a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nev. (Getty Images)
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Alrighty, then.
We know this is some kind of motivational mind game thing Kubiak is playing because last week he told everyone he simply doesn’t want any player getting comfortable with his status on the team.
And that includes the quarterbacks.
That’s fine. But this borders on being comical.
Because in the same news conference Kubiak declined to pick a starter, he spoke of Mendoza taking backup repetitions once regular-season practices begin.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a pass during a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev., on Aug. 13, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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He also said Mendoza could benefit from three more preseason games.
And then there’s the statistics that blare as if through a bullhorn that Cousins is the guy.
Cousins on Thursday evening completed 8 of his 11 passes in action limited to the first quarter. Cousins finished the preseason 13 of 17 (76.5 completion percentage) for 101 yards with 1 TD.
That means Cousins authored a 110.2 passer rating in the preseason and the team announced that is the best mark by a Raiders quarterback since 2017 for anyone with a minimum of 17 attempts.
Translation: Cousins balled out.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) is hit by Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (90) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“Kirk looks great, he looks ruthlessly efficient,” Mendoza said.
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Mendoza didn’t look that way the past couple of games. He threw an interception last week and another on Thursday night. He completed 5 of 9 attempts to be barely above the 50 percent completion mark for the second consecutive week.
And unless Kubiak is seeing Mendoza dominate in some super secret practice that no one else in the organization is attending, then this is a delayed announcement for the sake of, well, who knows what?
The oddly obvious part that telegraphs Kubiak’s intention to name Cousins the starter is that he tells the truth a lot when offering an evaluation of the NFL’s first overall draft pick.
Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak speaks at introductory press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center on Feb. 10, 2026 in Henderson, Nevada. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“He needs another three preseason games, all those rookies do,” Kubiak said of Mendoza. “And now that the season is starting, the practice reps get smaller and that’s just life.
“But us, as coaches, we got to keep getting him ready to play, keep developing him.”
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Once teams begin regular-season practices, they give their established starting quarterback the majority of work in practice so he can be prepared for the games that count.
The backup gets limited practice work. And as Kubiak himself said, that’s Mendoza.
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