Adam Schefter confirms Raiders' Fernando Mendoza, Kirk Cousins plan

A recent update indicated that rookie Fernando Mendoza possibly emerging as the Las Vegas Raiders' Week 1 starting quarterback over veteran Kirk Cousins was "on the table." 

That said, it sounds like Raiders fans may want to prepare themselves to see Cousins get the nod for Las Vegas' Week 1 home game versus the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13. 

Raiders want to stick to original Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza plan?

"They brought in Kirk Cousins to be the leader, to be the starter, to be the veteran that takes the pressure off Fernando Mendoza, and not have to rush along their No. 1 overall pick," ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said about the Raiders during Thursday's edition of the "Get Up" program. "The belief has been that Cousins will be the starter. He'll be the starter into the season."

Schefter's update is hardly surprising for multiple reasons. Even before the Raiders made Mendoza the first overall pick of this year's draft, first-year Las Vegas head coach Klint Kubiak hinted that he'd want the rookie to watch "a mature adult go and run an offense and run the team" through a portion of this fall. 

Since that time, it has been said that Mendoza "had his fair share of growing pains" during the offseason program. While that shouldn't alarm Raiders fans who are hoping that Mendoza will become a franchise savior, it should serve as a reminder that there doesn't need to be any rush to play the promising prospect. In fact, Mendoza may even begin the campaign as Las Vegas' QB3 behind Cousins and fellow backup Aidan O'Connell.

Raiders want to bring Fernando Mendoza along "very slowly"

"We'll see when they decide to change quarterbacks," Schefter added about the Raiders. "But Cousins is the favorite to start on opening day. They want to bring along Mendoza very slowly."

Of course, the situation theoretically could change if Mendoza starts to look like a superstar when the Raiders open the preseason with a matchup versus the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13. For now, it continues to seem as if Mendoza will be wearing a headset on the second Sunday afternoon of September.