Mendoza gets first-team chance after Raiders discipline

Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby were held out of team drills Saturday for disciplinary reasons after their Friday practice exchange, turning one hot camp moment into something more meaningful for the Raiders.

Both players participated in individual work and are expected back Monday, according to ESPN. But their absence from team periods gave Las Vegas a longer look at where Fernando Mendoza stands with the first-team offense.

That is the real Saturday story. Friday brought the flare-up. Saturday brought the consequence, and Mendoza got the football opportunity.

Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan did not frame Mendoza’s day as a finished product. Instead, he described a rookie taking the next steps that matter most inside the building: avoiding repeated mistakes, handling more operation and keeping his poise as the practice environment gets louder.

“He continues to improve,” Sullivan said. “The thing I think we’re very pleased about is that from the spring to the start of camp, there were some parts of his game we wanted him to improve upon, and he has.”

Mendoza gets a bigger test

Saturday’s first-team work mattered because it came with more than better players around him. Sullivan said the Raiders have added layers to Mendoza’s plate, including crowd noise and the silent count.

“He isn’t repeating mistakes, which is always a good thing,” Sullivan said. “It’s a process. It’s a long process. We’re pleased with how he’s developing.”

That is careful coach language, but it is also meaningful. The Raiders do not need Mendoza to win August. They need him to absorb information, speed up his operation and prove he can keep coming back from imperfect reps.

Sullivan said Mendoza has made his biggest growth in “comfort, confidence and command of the operation.” That includes huddle operation, cadence, verbal communication, playing under center and handling parts of the NFL game that many college quarterbacks rarely manage before they enter the league.

Those details matter more than a camp completion chart. They show whether Mendoza is learning how to run an NFL offense, not just throw in one.

Preparation is becoming part of the story

Sullivan gave the best window into Mendoza’s process when he described how the rookie reviewed his OTA work.

After each discussion with coaches, Mendoza wrote up every pass play by hand. Sullivan said he included the progression, footwork and his own critique of where he fell short or did well.

“He’s a very diligent, tireless worker,” Sullivan said. “Everything that has been said and portrayed about the type of young man he is is true and then some.”

That detail explains where Mendoza’s confidence is supposed to come from. Not hype, draft status or one strong two-minute drill in camp.

Preparation.

Sullivan joked that Mendoza’s handwriting was not the cleanest and said he told him, “Maybe you could type this next time.” Still, the point landed. Mendoza is putting in the kind of work the Raiders believe can help him handle the speed of the league.

Sullivan wants poise, not just completions

Sullivan said quarterback evaluation goes beyond completed passes. For young quarterbacks, he wants to see poise first.

“Is there anything that seems to rattle him?” Sullivan said. “If something goes bad, does it start to spiral into more bad things?”

That mattered Saturday because Mendoza got extended first-team work. The speed picked up around him, the operation carried more pressure and every rep gave the Raiders more information.

Sullivan also pointed to two-minute work as one of the best quarterback tests. Those periods combine red zone, third down, clock pressure, fatigue and a one-dimensional passing situation into one drill.

“We have to perform and train that way, get that callus and get that hardness so that when we’re called upon on a Sunday, we’re able to perform,” Sullivan said.

Saturday gave Mendoza another layer of that callus.

Woods wants PBUs to become takeaways

Joe Woods gave the defense its clearest Saturday theme: the Raiders need to turn tight coverage into takeaways.

The defensive backs have been around the ball throughout camp. Woods likes that progress, but he wants more finishes.

“We’re making a lot of plays on the football in terms of PBUs,” Woods said. “We want to pull them down.”