On April 2, 2026, the Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a team-friendly deal worth up to $172 million over five years. However, the contract effectively functions as a one-year, $20 million deal, with $20 million fully guaranteed in 2026. The Raiders will pay a veteran minimum of $1.3 million, while the Atlanta Falcons will pay $8.7 million. The deal also includes a $10 million roster bonus for March 2027 and a two-year option, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.
With this signing, what does this mean for Fernando Mendoza?
It appears likely that Mendoza will be drafted by the Raiders, but the possibility of him not starting immediately as a typical first overall pick quarterback is mind-blowing to me. Every quarterback I’ve seen who was drafted first overall has started right away for their team.
There is also a real possibility that Mendoza might not play during his entire rookie season. If that happens, he would become the first quarterback drafted first overall since Carson Palmer in 2003 to essentially redshirt his rookie season.
Raiders columnist and Sonoma State University lecturer Paul Gutierrez spoke to The Sonoma State Star about his opinion on the signing and the potential of Mendoza serving as a backup.
“It is a stepping stone in the path of drafting Fernando Mendoza first overall because you got a guy who’s already familiar with the scheme,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez also referenced a quote from Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak on Raiders.com:
“In a perfect world, I don’t want a rookie quarterback to be starting. I would prefer the rookie to learn from the need of an adult in the room to learn from.”
Gutierrez believes this move is part of the Raiders’ long-term plan to draft Mendoza and allow him time to develop, even if that means sitting out for the entire season.
“This situation reminds me of the 2014 offseason, when they signed Matt Schaub from the Houston Texans and then drafted Derek Carr in the second round of the NFL Draft,” he said.
“With that situation, they didn’t sign Schaub to be Carr’s mentor,” he added. “They didn’t even know who they were going to pick in that NFL Draft.”
This situation is entirely different from other first overall pick quarterbacks in the past 15 years, but Gutierrez noted that he grew up watching great quarterbacks who sat and developed before becoming starters. However, in this current generation of young players and fans, we haven’t seen something like this happen very often.
