Raiders’ season is slipping away — it’s time to see what Fernando Mendoza can do

The Raiders need to start asking themselves what they want to salvage from this season.

A fading chance at sneaking into the playoffs?

Or something that could actually help them become a playoff team for years to come?

After four consecutive defeats, including Sunday’s 35-21 loss to the Rams to fall to 3-4, the conversation about turning the offense over to Fernando Mendoza needs to become considerably more serious.

Perhaps as soon as this week, as the Raiders begin preparation for a trip to New York to play the Jets.

This has nothing to do with blaming veteran Kirk Cousins for the losing streak. The Raiders have spread responsibility for that across too many positions and meeting rooms to pin it on the quarterback.

This is about priorities.

And whether preserving whatever remains of a playoff chase should outweigh getting the first overall pick, and presumed future face of the franchise, meaningful experience.

It was clear Raiders coach Klint Kubiak contemplated a change Sunday against the Rams. But as the Raiders cut into the deficit in the second half, the possibility of a comeback meant staying the course with Cousins.

That explains the immediate decision. The bigger one still awaits.

Asked about Mendoza’s timeline and making the switch, Kubiak said all options are on the table.

“I think at this point we’re thinking about everything,” said Kubiak. “How to fix our problems. How to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter. Personnel, scheme. We’ve got to talk about all of it.”

As they should. Four consecutive losses demand a hard look at the entire operation, including whether it’s time to turn to the quarterback they drafted first overall to lead them out of the wilderness.

At some point, the Raiders have to stop protecting the possibility of this season at the expense of preparing for the next one. And all the others after that.

They are getting awfully close to that point.

And spare me the frightened question about whether putting Mendoza into a difficult situation might crush him.

Did it crush Eli Manning?

The Giants lost six of his seven starts as a rookie in 2004. A year later, he led them to the NFC East title. Somehow, struggling against NFL defenses did not destroy his ability to eventually beat them.

Jared Goff endured a miserable introduction to the league in 2016. By the end of his second season, he was leading the Rams to a division championship. They went to the Super Bowl in his third season.

The quarterback who looked overwhelmed became someone a winning team could build around.

Caleb Williams absorbed 68 sacks during a five-win rookie season, then led the Bears to a division title and a playoff victory in his second year. Drake Maye endured his own difficult rookie apprenticeship before taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl the following season.

None of that guarantees Mendoza will follow the same path. Coaching, protection and the talent around a quarterback matter enormously.

But those examples should put a dent in the notion that rookie struggles automatically leave permanent scars.

Sometimes, they leave knowledge.

The interception a quarterback throws in November becomes the mistake he recognizes the following September. The protection he fails to adjust becomes the pressure he sees coming. The speed that overwhelms him becomes something he learns to process.

There is value in experiencing that before next season, when the Raiders will expect Mendoza to lead them somewhere.

And if rookie turbulence is enough to wreck him, perhaps the evaluation that made him the first overall pick needs examining anyway.

The Raiders drafted someone they believe can carry a franchise. That requires surviving a bad Sunday without allowing it to become a bad career.

Trust that evaluation.

And, please, spare us the obligatory Tom Brady comparison.

Brady arrived in New England as a sixth-round pick. Nobody built the franchise’s immediate future around getting him ready to take over. His circumstances bear little resemblance to those of a quarterback selected first overall to change an organization’s direction.

Patrick Mahomes is a more reasonable comparison, but context matters there, too.

The Chiefs were coming off a 12-4 season when they drafted him. With Alex Smith still at quarterback, the Chiefs won 10 games and returned to the playoffs during Mahomes’ rookie year, giving the youngster one start in the finale.

They had a functioning present to preserve.

What, exactly, are the Raiders preserving?

They missed the playoffs last season. And many more before that. Barring a substantial turnaround, they are not headed there this season, either. With tough games looming against the 49ers, Seahawks, Broncos and Chiefs, it’s getting harder to envision an available path to the playoffs.

Kubiak still has a responsibility to win games. But developing Mendoza belongs near the top of the list of ways to make the Raiders better. And developing him should include actually playing, rather than just watching and learning from Cousins.

Give him a workable plan. Establish answers against pressure. Demand that the players around him do their jobs. Coach him through the mistakes.

Cousins can remain an invaluable resource. His experience does not disappear because Mendoza starts taking the snaps.

Cousins understands the assignment: Hold down the fort until the Raiders decide Mendoza is ready, then help him take ownership of the offense. If that transition comes this season, Cousins’ role shifts to backup, sounding board and mentor. 

Those are responsibilities every bit as important to the future the Raiders are trying to build.

None of which has to be explained to Cousins, who signed with the Raiders with eyes wide open to the situation.

“The organization will do what they feel is best,” Cousins said. “I feel that Fernando has done a great job and has a bright future ahead. I’m going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can to help us win and give him a great example to learn from until he does go out there.”

As it relates to Mendoza, yes, there are risks in playing a young quarterback. There are also costs to postponing lessons he eventually has to learn.

The Raiders have plenty to fix over the remainder of this season.

Getting their most important investment onto the field should be chief among them.

Sooner rather than later.