How Kirk Cousins is already showing the Raiders QB1 behavior

As the excitement over the Las Vegas Raiders builds with having both veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and rookie signal-caller Fernando Mendoza in the fold, the inevitable question is, "Which quarterback will start?"

Even though Cousins, 37, is nearing the end of his NFL career, he's still clocking franchise quarterback numbers. During his 2025-26 season with the Atlanta Falcons, Cousins made 10 appearances and completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Meanwhile, Mendoza is coming off an undefeated season with the Indiana Hoosiers, where he led the team to a national championship victory. But Mendoza is a rookie. He'll need time to acclimate to the NFL, and that's where Cousins comes in. But how long?

What's clear is that Cousins isn't acting like a backup quarterback. He's acting like QB1 already.

Kirk Cousins makes high-profile appearance at Golden Knights game

Cousins made a high-profile Vegas appearance and cranked the siren before Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday evening.

In a video clip shared by the Knights, Cousins wore a Golden Knights jersey and happily sounded the siren.