HENDERSON, Nev.—Even pulling in to the parking lot at Intermountain Health Performance Center for Wednesday’s practice, there was a sense of unshakeable excitement in the air.
After months of patience and preparation for the moment his number was called, Fernando Mendoza is finally getting his moment in the sun as QB1 of the Las Vegas Raiders.
On Tuesday, the Raiders officially made the transition when they dealt starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their third-round pick in 2027.
However, by no means does that indicate the Raiders are punting on 2026. If the comments made by head coach Klint Kubiak and general manager John Spytek are anything to go by, they are more determined to win than ever before.
“Our expectation is for him to lead the offense, to lead the operation and to go play a game here Sunday and be the leader of the team,” said Kubiak on Tuesday.
Needless to say, the already immense pressure of carrying the future of an entire franchise that was already saddled onto Mendoza’s shoulders has only amplified.
The challenge of bringing a long-suffering football team to the promised land is nothing new to Mendoza, however. He earned his Heisman Trophy and first overall pick status on the grounds of teaming with Curt Cignetti to take the Indiana Hoosiers from a national reputation as the program with the most losses in Division I football history to national championship glory.
For a team like the Raiders that is still aiming to return to the heights that their storied history waxes poetic of, having a quarterback who has lifted a team from the shadows all the way to national relevance is quite the advantage.
“I believe starting an NFL game, it is a new step, but a whirlwind, no,” said Mendoza about his preparation for his first NFL start.
“Coach Kubiak, [offensive coordinator Andrew] Janocko and [quarterbacks] Coach [Mike] Sullivan, everyone in the quarterback room including Kirk have done a fantastic job in aiding my development. Can’t thank them enough.”
Despite all of this, expecting flawless execution out of the gates would be a fool’s errand.
Outside of the standard rookie mistakes and the fact that Mendoza has such a small sample size at the NFL level, the stretch awaiting the Raiders is not necessarily ideal for the rookie. Mendoza’s first career start will come against the Seattle Seahawks, who boast the NFL’s best defense by surrendering a league-low 244.2 yards per game (the second-best defense is Minnesota’s with 280). After that comes the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns, both of whom are tied for fourth in the NFL with 26 sacks this season.
The post-bye schedule opens up with games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals, but the three games before then will be indicative of how Mendoza handles setbacks and give a clear indication of his progress from week to week.
“This is a fantastic opponent,” said Mendoza about the Seahawks. “However, I have so much trust in the coaching staff, in the front office, in my teammates and the leaders of this team to go out there and best support everybody’s 1-11, so we do our job with the best ability.”
That said, Mendoza is now the captain of the ship, and the locker room is his to command.
Every indication on Wednesday, from Mendoza breaking down the huddle to the locker room speaking so highly of him, says that the transition in leadership should be relatively smooth. Whether it’s Mendoza continuing Cousins’s In-n-Out tradition or finding togetherness with his teammates through his faith, there are plenty of opportunities that the rookie to prove himself both on and off the field.
“It was a great lesson that I learned early on is try to be yourself,” said Mendoza on how he was able to mesh with the Raiders locker room as seamlessly as he has. “We have so many great teammates in here, and I can’t thank all of them enough for how they’ve brought me in.
Those are my brothers, and I’m so excited to go to war with my brothers and be able to fight every single play and do everything I possibly can to help us.”
The Raiders have enjoyed stretches of success so far this season but, when Mendoza is leading the charge on Sunday against Seattle, a new benchmark will be set on how 2026 will be remembered for the Silver and Black.