The Las Vegas Raiders will begin their 2026 campaign on Sunday by hosting the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. We already know that veteran Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback. What we don't know is what role rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza will play in his debut.
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak must decide who Cousins' backup quarterback will be. They are carrying three signal callers on the active 53-man roster. Veteran Aidan O'Connell made the team behind Cousins and Mendoza.
Only one of Mendoza or O'Connell will be active. The chosen quarterback will play the backup role behind Cousins. The other will be considered the third emergency quarterback, and would only be allowed to play if both the active quarterbacks suffered an injury.
Mendoza should be Cousins' backup. It sounds straightforward, but there's no guarantee Kubiak will make that decision. The Raiders are starting Cousins because they believe Mendoza will benefit from developing behind the scenes.
If Cousins gets injured, a realistic possibility, would the Raiders be comfortable with Mendoza entering the contest? If Mendoza is the backup, Kubiak has to be comfortable with that potential outcome. If the Raiders are dead-set on Mendoza sitting, O'Connell could be the backup quarterback on Sunday.
We'll be monitoring the decision Kubiak makes.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Fernando Mendoza should absolutely be next man up at QB in Week 1
