Former MVP shares what having Tom Brady as a mentor will mean for Raiders' Fernando Mendoza

Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has acknowledged that he is serving as a mentor for rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Long before the Raiders made Mendoza the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, signal-caller Rich Gannon earned Most Valuable Player Award honors while playing for the Raiders. During a recent chat with NFL insider Jason La Canfora for an article published by Casino.ca, Gannon touched upon how "Brady's hands-on role with Mendoza will accelerate the rookie's development." 

Fernando Mendoza having Tom Brady as a mentor is "a special thing"

"[Mendoza] getting to be around Brady like that, that’s a special thing," Gannon explained. "He’s going to know, here’s what to do in every situation and how to handle his day off and what to do every day throughout the week. He’s got great mentors around him, and he also gets to learn from Tom’s ability to explain what happens between plays, in those critical 25 or 30 seconds. As a young QB, I can tell you that goes by really fast."

Mendoza isn't just learning from Brady, as the Raiders acquired veteran Kirk Cousins earlier this year. According to a Thursday update, Las Vegas signed 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." That report added that the Raiders "want to bring along Mendoza very slowly." 

Thus, Cousins is on track to get the nod for Las Vegas' Week 1 game versus the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13. 

Working with Tom Brady will expose Fernando Mendoza to unique experiences

"Tom is going to help [Mendoza] process and absorb information and understand how to compartmentalize things, and he’ll be able to look at the front and the coverage and the safeties and have a checklist of things to go through," Gannon continued. "[Mendoza] is going to be exposed to things that a lot of players who get coached even at the NFL level never really get explained to them like this." 

Assuming the Raiders stick to their plan, Mendoza could begin the upcoming campaign as the club's QB3 behind backup Aidan O'Connell. That would allow Mendoza to develop as an unused spectator until he is deemed ready to face live defenses in regular-season games.