Grading the Raiders' Signing of QB Kirk Cousins

Mendoza's Buffer

The Raiders' moves in free agency can only be matched, or topped by a productive haul in the NFL Draft. Las Vegas' 2026 draft class will be headlined by quarterback, and presumed No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas' nine additional draft picks will help address other needs.

Las Vegas will draft Mendoza, but general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak have both publicly spoken about their desire to add a veteran quarterback to the mix. Doing so will help the Raiders bring Mendoza along gradually, instead of putting him on the field immediately in Week 1.

The Raiders still have Aidan O'Connell on their roster, but they felt like they needed more experience in the quarterback room. This is a fair assessment, especially after O'Connell missed most of the 2025 season with an injury and would played sparingly after returning.

As with many of the moves the Raiders made along the coaching staff, the Kubiak decided to bring in a veteran quarterback who he is familiar with and has coached before. Kubiak and the Raiders have signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to help usher in the Mendoza era in Las Vegas.

Kubiak and Cousins spent three seasons together with the Minnesota Vikings, during which Cousins had the best seasons of his career. In Las Vegas, Cousins will likely start the first few games of the season before passing the torch to Mendoza at a point yet to be decided by the coaching staff.

Cousins' arrival solidifies the Raiders' backup quarterback position, which is always critical but even more critical with an unproven starter, as Mendoza will eventually become. Kubiak recently explained how he and the front office approached the idea of adding a veteran quarterback.

“You have that conversation. You let them know what they're getting into, and hopefully they know what they're getting into. But I'm not going to ask them to that veteran to go to be a teacher. That's our job. Our job as a coach, you just want that guy to lead, lead with his play, lead by example,” Kubiak said at the league's Annual Meetings.  

“That's a lot to ask from a guy like they have enough to worry about to try to get the ball off when they get sacked, so you just want them to play their best football, and hopefully the young guy will learn through osmosis."

Grade: C+/B-

The Raiders needed a proven quarterback on the roster. With the Atlanta Falcons still on the hook for most of Cousins' contract, adding him to the roster at an affordable rate makes a lot of sense.

However, the Raiders' coaching staff should be much more focused on developing Mendoza as fast as possible. Expectations and intrigue will only grow the longer they start Cousins ahead of Mendoza.