ClutchPoints
Fans of the Las Vegas Raiders have to be excited about the 2026 season. Las Vegas made some major improvements during the offseason, headlined by the addition of Fernando Mendoza at quarterback. But how long will it take before the rookie gets his first taste of NFL action?
ESPN’s Dan Graziano made an interesting observation about the Raiders’ quarterback situation before the quiet period of the offseason.
Graziano observed that Mendoza would not be the first rookie quarterback to become a starter faster than the team declared before the regular season.
“Of course, this is far from the first time we’ve heard a team talk and plan this way around a first-round quarterback,” Graziano wrote. “What inevitably happens is that the team starts losing games and faces pressure to play the rookie sooner than it said it wanted to. (Very often, the rookie plays well enough to convince us the team had nothing to worry about.)”
Las Vegas would prefer to have veteran Kirk Cousins run the offense while Mendoza adjusts to the NFL. But Graziano argued that it may take a herculean effort from Cousins to keep Mendoza off the field.
“Unless the Cousins-led Raiders shock us all by starting out hot and staying in contention all season, we’re going to see Mendoza at some point. Heck, if he looks good enough in training camp, we could see him start in Week 1,” Graziano added. “But as of right now, the questions are about when he’ll be ready and how long the Raiders can wait before they feel like they have to play him.”
Raiders fans could learn a lot about the team’s quarterback battle during the early days of training camp in late July.
The post Why ESPN insider won’t rule out Fernando Mendoza starting Week 1 appeared first on ClutchPoints.
