No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza was supposed to compete for the starting quarterback job for the Las Vegas Raiders this season. He may start the regular season buried on the team’s depth chart instead.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak indicated Friday that the team is giving some thought to naming Aidan O’Connell as Kirk Cousins’ backup instead of Mendoza. Kubiak said the team would have to make “hard decisions” on how the depth chart would be ordered, and left the door open to Mendoza opening the season as a third-stringer.
Klint Kubiak reiterated that he feels the Raiders have 3 quarterbacks "that are ready to play" when asked if Aidan O'Connell would play over Fernando Mendoza if Kirk Cousins was the starter and went down.
— Sam Warren (@samwarren83) August 28, 2026
"It's going to be some hard decisions on who's one, who's two, and that's…
Such a decision does not mean much for Mendoza’s future, as Kubiak asserted that he feels all three of his quarterbacks would be ready to play if needed. However, leaving O’Connell as his No. 2 would ensure that Mendoza would not see the field even if Cousins suffered some sort of injury.
Mendoza did start the preseason as the Raiders’ No. 2 quarterback, with O’Connell behind him. Neither one of them performed poorly during preseason action, though Mendoza did turn in a few moments he would like to forget.
Cousins has long been the expected starter for the Raiders, as the organization wants to acclimate Mendoza to the NFL slowly. Mendoza was always expected to be the No. 2, so it would be a surprise if he isn’t.
