With No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza making his NFL debut during the Week 5 matchup against the New England Patriots
, questions arose after the game about whether he’d be the Las Vegas Raiders’ starting quarterback moving forward. However, head coach Klint Kubiak confirmed that Kirk Cousins will remain behind center during his press conference the day after the game.“That’s why [Fernando is] here; we have a lot of confidence in him,” Kubiak said when asked about how the coaching staff feels about the rookie
(h/t Silver & Black Sports Network’s Jesse Merrick). “Kirk’s the starter. If Fernando’s called upon, he’ll be ready to go just like he was yesterday.”
Mendoza didn’t see the field until garbage time, when the Raiders were down 45-17 with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter. He completed six of eight passes for 48 yards and came up one yard short on a fourth-down scramble that led to a change of possession. “[Fernando] was prepared, he played fast, he got through his progressions quickly, he knew his hot issues. It was a solid start for him,” the head coach said, via Merrick.
Meanwhile, Cousins was 19-for-28 with 243 yards and a touchdown. His 1,268 passing yards are the seventh-most in the NFL before the Week 5 Monday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. The 38-year-old is also tied for second in touchdown passes with 12. So, a quarterback change never seemed to be imminent.
However, the combination of the Raiders dropping back-to-back games, having a stagnant offense in New England and seeing Mendoza get his first regular-season reps led to some intrigue. But Kubiak put a halt to those talks before they ever really took off.
Below are a few other highlights from the head coaches’ press conference:
- Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway, who excited Sunday’s game with an injury, is in concussion protocol (via Merrick).
- Some changes to the offensive line could be coming: “We have to look at everything. We have to improve [running the ball]. It’s something I’ve been saying for multiple weeks now that’s not getting done, and so, as a coaching staff, it falls on me. It falls on me to get it fixed.” (via Merrick). Kubiak also said that the offensive line struggles will open opportunities for others to get playing time (via The Athletic’s Sam Warren).
- Wide receiver Jalen Nailor (concussion) is expected to practice this week after missing the Patriots game (via Warren).
- Wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. (hamstring) is expected to “take another jump” in his second week of practice since getting his window openend to return from IR. “He’s got to compete in practice and show us that he’s ready to go.” (via Warren).
- Cornerbacks Darien Porter and Hezekiah Masses will continue to compete for the second starting cornerback spot (via Merrick). Porter began the season as the starter before getting injured and losing the job to Masses, but Masses was benched in favor of Porter on Sunday.
- On Porter: “He’s a guy that was starting, lost his starting job for a week and is so mentally tough that he came back in and played really good football yesterday. Played very competitive, and that’s not a surprise. That’s the kind of guy that he is. He’s just gonna continue to get better, and him and Zeke will compete for that job.” (via Warren).
- Why Dylan Laube got extra reps on offense in New England: “Overall, Dylan’s been a really good protection back for us. That gets you into the game on third down and gets you in the game in passing situations, and he’s been very reliable on special teams. Just overall, a very reliable player that’s an ascending player.” (via Merrick). Kubiak also said Mike Washington Jr. needs more opportunities, and that starts with him giving them to Washington.
- On the loss: “I just didn’t have a good plan for our guys. We didn’t execute well. We got behind early, and we weren’t able to get the run game going. There’s just a lot of reasons why that game didn’t work out, and it starts with me.” (via Merrick).
