Raiders' Klint Kubiak gives hint about big Fernando Mendoza decision

Back in late February, Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek suggested that he may not want to name a rookie quarterback the club's Week 1 starter. 

Of course, the Raiders are widely expected to make Indiana Hoosiers star Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, first-year Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak hinted that Mendoza could begin his debut pro season as a QB2. 

Klint Kubiak has "perfect" scenario in mind for developing Fernando Mendoza

"I think in a perfect world, he’s watching a mature adult go and run an offense and run the team," Kubiak said about his potential handling of a rookie quarterback, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "But, the situation is, you might have that player, you might not have that veteran to show him the way. So he might come in and have to play immediately. But you’d rather him learn, learn before he gets in the game. You don’t always get to pick. It doesn’t work out the exact way you want it to. But at the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re bringing in an individual, drafting a guy that’s mature enough to handle some adversity — whether it’s him starting the first game or him starting the first game Year 2."

Before living legend Tom Brady was officially approved as a minority owner of the Raiders, he made it known that he thinks it's "a tragedy" that teams force quarterbacks into action as rookies. Brady spent nearly all of his rookie season as an unused backup behind Drew Bledsoe. That worked out quite well for TB12, as he ultimately became the GOAT of his position and the NFL's greatest winner of the Super Bowl era. 

Klint Kubiak asking Raiders to acquire a "mature adult" QB?

Before Kubiak spoke on Tuesday, stories started linking the Raiders with former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins. Unlike other teams that may be interested in signing Cousins, the Raiders could hand him a temporary QB1 job this spring or summer. 

"Sometimes they have to play from Day 1," Kubiak added about rookie quarterbacks. "It’s our job as a coach to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show."

It's unclear how Cousins would feel about joining a team that may only give him a handful of starts before a rookie takes over. That said, he may have to accept whatever the Raiders offer him unless he is willing to sign with a team that already has a proven starter atop its depth chart.