Sunday night, Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak opened the door to a potential starting quarterback change when he said the team needs to look at everything in an attempt to snap a four-game losing streak.
Monday afternoon, however, Kubiak made a point to put the end of any speculation that that the team could replace veteran Kirk Cousins with rookie Fernando Mendoza. Kubiak began his press briefing by stating Cousins is the starter.
“There is no controversy here,” Kubiak said
Kubiak said that Cousins
is playing well and the team needs to run the ball better to help the offense. He said Mendoza, the No. 1 overall draft pick, will “eventually” play but the time is not now. He said the 3-4 Raiders are still in the playoff hunt and winning is the priority. Thus, Cousins will remain the starter.
It is my read that Kubiak was never really going to consider a quarterback change this week, but his big-picture way of answering the question Sunday night fueled the speculation. That’s why he made it clear Monday that a change will not be happening.
Meanwhile, Kubiak said wide receiver Jack Bech is expected to begin practicing this week. He’s been on he injured reserve for the past four weeks with a broken forearm. He will have three weeks to ramp up. The team has until Wednesday to either activate Dont’e Thornton or keep him on the injured reserve all season.
