Dan Orlovsky shares strong reaction to Raiders' Fernando Mendoza, Kirk Cousins plan

A previous report revealed that Las Vegas Raiders minority owner and supposed "de facto boss when it comes to football matters" Tom Brady was "the voice in the building that is the strongest" as it pertains to rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza beginning the 2026 regular season as a backup. 

Since that time, multiple local and national reporters have said that veteran Kirk Cousins will serve as the Raiders' Week 1 starter for their home game versus the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13 as long as he is healthy. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, former NFL quarterback and current analyst Dan Orlovsky shared a strong reaction to how the Raiders reportedly plan to handle Mendoza this summer. 

Raiders "don’t have to rush" Fernando Mendoza into the lineup

"You don’t have to rush him onto the field," Orlovsky said about Mendoza, per Eduardo Razo of Heavy. "Do I think he should play at some point this year? Yes. But I think you’re waiting until at least as long as you can, a situation where we’re out of the playoff conversation, Kirk Cousins isn’t doing the job that we need him to anymore. Let’s get this guy experience. I don’t think there’s anything that he should do in the preseason that goes, 'We have to go play him. This guy’s the difference between us winning games and losing games.' Don’t rush."

The topic of when a quarterback drafted with a high-value pick should play sparks debate just about every year. Brady said plenty about his feelings on the subject when he made it known in the summer of 2024 that he felt it was "a tragedy that we’re forcing these rookies to play early." 

Raiders don't have a squad that could help Fernando Mendoza succeed as a rookie

As for Mendoza, he is on track to get "plenty of experience" during the preseason, beginning with Thursday's matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. History shows that he may thrive while playing against backups during exhibition contests, but Orlovsky thinks the Raiders should resist the temptation of playing the promising prospect against live defenses in meaningful September games. 

"It’s so hard to be the No. 1 pick and pan out very well with that organization," Orlovsky explained. "It’s not a group you want the No. 1 overall pick going out there being attached to. And then also from an offensive line perspective, we talk about Geno Smith and how he played last season and how it wasn’t on the good side of things. A large part of that was because of the offensive line. So, you don’t want the No. 1 pick going out there. We live in a society today where everyone just wants to thrust these young players out there. Hey, just go play because you’re the No. 1 overall pick. It’s okay to make sure that the circumstances are okay before that young player goes out there and actually starts a football game."

Brady, first-year head coach Klint Kubiak and others associated with the Raiders seem to agree with Orlovsky. That said, it remains to be seen how the Raiders would react if Cousins became unavailable early in the upcoming campaign for any reason.