Cousins was the Raiders' logical choice from the outset

HENDERSON, Nev. — Back in 2004, the New York Football Giants acquired who they thought was their quarterback of the future in Eli Manning.

Manning was the No. 1 overall pick in ’04 but then-Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi had to send Philip Rivers, who was taken No., 4 by New York, a 2005 first-round pick and two additional picks to the then-San Diego Chargers to acquire Manning.

Accorsi also believed Manning wasn’t ready to start immediately in the NFL so he signed veteran QB Kurt Warner. Manning would start on Nov. 21 that season against Atlanta.

It almost feels like the Raiders are taking a page from that playbook as they await the debut of Fernando Mendoza. GM John Spytek brought Kirk Cousins in during the offseason to be the bridge to their future with Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick from this year’s draft.

The Raiders can only hope history repeats itself. Manning went on to a stellar career with the Giants, winning two Super Bowls (2008 and 2012), defeating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on both occasions. Brady is now a part owner of the Raiders so he can relate to what happened with Manning’s development and the Giants not throwing him to the wolves in Week 1 of his rookie season.

And while Klint Kubiak waited until Wednesday morning to announce Cousins will start in Week 1 next Sunday against Miami, no one should be surprised. The only way Cousins wasn’t starting would have been if he was injured and the Raiders all but kept him in bubble wrap during training camp and the preseason. Even Maxx Crosby couldn’t rough him up though not from a lack of trying.

Mendoza is still learning and there’s a lot of education he needs to complete before he trots onto the field in an NFL regular-season game. But he’s willing to put in the time, be a good student, make the most of his practice reps, be the best teammate he can be and learn from Cousins and Kubiak as well as take advice from Aidan O’Connell, who the Raiders are keeping as their third-string QB and someone who has been a starter in the NFL.

"He's played really good football,” Kubiak said of his decision to officially name Cousins his starter. “I'm really happy with all three of our quarterbacks. Kirk's had a really good offseason, a very good camp, and he's earned it.”

Make no mistake about it, Mendoza’s time is coming. When that is, nobody knows. Every player’s learning curve is different. In Eli Manning’s case, he had the luxury of having grown up at the position from when he was a youngster through his father, Hall of Famer Archie Manning. His older brother Payton would forge his own Hall of Fame career. So by the time he got to the Giants, Eli’s education was already accelerated. He didn’t have to wait as long as say, Aaron Rogers did in Green Bay.

When Warner joined the Giants in 2004, he was 33. He had already won a Super Bowl with the Rams and even though his time with the G-Men was brief — he played in just 10 games —he went on to play five more seasons with the Cardinals.  

Cousins is 38. Yes, he could very well stay in the league once he has handed the keys to the car over to Mendoza. But the Raiders need to get off to a good start. Cousins gives them the best chance to do that. He’s worked with Kubiak before during their time together in Minnesota and Cousins had two of his most productive seasons in the NFL while being coached by Kubiak. These two are definitely on the same page.

But in order for this to work, and Cousins is no different from any other NFL quarterback in this regard, he’s going to need to have his teammates deliver. That means running the ball with Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr.. It means his offensive line blocking for him and giving him a chance to throw the ball downfield. And it means the receivers need to make catches. No one’s worried about Brock Bowers, or Michael Mayer for that matter. The tight ends will do their job. But will the WRs make the plays required to ultimately get this team into the end zone and take the pressure off Crosby and the defense?

We’ve seen Cousins make all the requisite throws in practice. And his few throws during the preseason were accurate (he was 13 of 17 for 101 yards and 1 TD). If he wasn’t capable of still playing, Spytek would never have acquired him.

So he’ll be at the helm of the offense when the Raiders host the Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium in 11 days. That was always going to be the case and no amount of secrecy from Kubiak and the Raiders was going to change that.

Mendoza? He needs to keep working, keep learning, be a sponge, absorb everything he can about playing the quarterback position in the NFL. And when his time comes to be the guy, he’ll deliver for the Raiders the way Eli Manning ultimately delivered for the Giants.