Here we are in mid-March and the Las Vegas Raiders — rightfully so — aren’t disclosing their 2026 NFL Draft plans. Not without the yearly event taking place at the tail end of April.
The Silver & Black own the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s event and, as you can imagine, during his stay at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, general manager John Spytek was asked frequently what he intends to do with the top pick. The questions surround around Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, pegged
by many as the presumptive No. 1 overall selection.
“Not right now, it’s not,” Spytek answered when the CBS Sports’ panel asked him if it was that simple to peg in Mendoza as the first pick. “Maybe sometime in early April it will be. I truly mean we’re going to go about this process the right way and don’t want to rush this.”
Spytek and his crew are doing due diligence this early into the draft process but getting the quarterback spot solidified for his rookie head coach Klint Kubiak is vital.
Gone is veteran Geno Smith (traded to the New York Jets) and the coaching staff that adored the signal caller.
And it would be quite the surprise if the Raiders don’t take Mendoza on Thursday, April 23 — the day the 2026 draft occurs.
When free agency opened last week, the rumor mill began churning about Las Vegas’ quarterback position, namely the team eyeing a veteran quarterback to bolster the group. And for good reason.
Kubiak is a renowned architect and orchestrator of an offense coming off the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl victory, however, the Raiders cupboard at signal caller is bare as bare can get. Aidan O’Connell, who enters Year 4 and will turn 28 on September 1, is the lone quarterback currently on the Raiders’ roster. And that should change in the near future.
There are two experienced veterans on the open market that fit the mold the Raiders are reportedly seeking in Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco.
Cousins, who was released by the Atlanta Falcons as a post-June 1 designation, is 37 (38 on August 19) and has a connection with Kubiak as the Raiders head coach was Cousins’ quarterbacks coach (2019-20) and offensive coordinator (2021) for the Minnesota Vikings.
Flacco, who is on the market after being with the Cincinnati Bengals, is the older of the two at 41 but has a Kubiak connection of his own — Klint’s father Gary, who served as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator in 2014. Flacco was 29 then and threw for 3,986 yards, 27 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions with the elder Kubiak dialing up the plays.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler even postulated Flacco would be an intriguing option to be the veteran presence at quarterback for a rookie signal caller like Mendoza. The duo’s familiarity with the the Kubiak coaching tree can serve both well if either were to land in Las Vegas.
Cousins’ two-year stint with the Falcons after six years with the Vikings saw him play in 24 games with 22 starts. He went 12-10 in said starts throwing for 5,229 yards, 28 touchdowns and 21 interceptions — including a career high 16 picks thrown in 2024.
In the three seasons in Minnesota where Kubiak worked directly with Cousins, the quarterback played in 47 games (all starts) compiling a 25-22 record and throwing for 12,089 yards, 94 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions from 2019-21. Kubiak’s offense showcases heavy play-action, a productive run game, and quick-decision making, all of which play into Cousins’ strengths.
His addition to the Raiders roster allows the veteran quarterback to reassimilate quickly and take the reins while Mendoza develops in Year 1.
Flacco, on the other hand, comes off a 2025 campaign that saw him begin with the Cleveland Browns and end with the Bengals. He played in 13 games (10 starts) compiling a 2-8 mark while throwing for 2,479 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Like Cousins, Flacco operates well on a run-heavy, play-action based approach that takes advantage of his deep accurate passing skillset. Flacco’s familiarity with Gary’s version of the Kubiak offense — that Klint has taken and evolved — allows the veteran to also slide in, start games, and mentor Mendoza.
That all noted, let’s take a look at potential cost for the two veteran signal callers.
Cousins represents the more expensive option as a 14-year veteran that’s amassed a career earnings of more than $321 million. Spotrac notes a $10.7 million market value for the quarterback with a projected two-year, $19.77-plus million pact at an average annual salary of $9.88-plus million.
Flacco’s market value from Spotrac is about half that at $5.6 million. The group projects a two-year, $10.23-plus million contract at an average annual salary of $5.11-plus million.
To compare, O’Connell enters the final year of his rookie contract on a very modest $3.674 million base salary and $3.801-plus cap number.
Thus, if the Raiders are inclined to add a free agent veteran quarterback, it’ll cost them some coin. Both Spotrac and Over The Cap have the Raiders with somewhere between $28 and $27 million in cap space, currently.
