NFL insider insists Raiders 'want' to make this Fernando Mendoza, Kirk Cousins decision

First-year Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak recently declined to name veteran Kirk Cousins the team's Week 1 starting quarterback over rookie Fernando Mendoza, in part because Kubiak doesn't "think it ever benefits a player to know that they have a spot secured." 

During Monday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Dan Graziano shared an update on the Raiders' expected depth chart for Week 1.

Raiders want Fernando Mendoza to be ready, and they want to be ready for Fernando Mendoza

"What [the Raiders] want to do is bring Mendoza along while Kirk Cousins starts, while they make sure the roster is sound around him by the time they do put him in," Graziano said. "Everyone knows he'll play eventually. When I talked to Kirk Cousins at Raiders camp a couple weeks ago, he said, 'I'm going to hold him off as long as I can.' So everybody knows the situation, but they want to start the season with Kirk Cousins as their starter, and they don't want to put Mendoza into a game until they believe he's ready and that the group around him is ready for him."

Mendoza flirted with making the competition for the starting job a real battle when he went 10-of-16 passing for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders' preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13. However, he looked much more like a rookie who is learning on the job when he completed 8-of-15 pass attempts for 86 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown at the Houston Texans on Aug. 20.

What will determine when Raiders bench Kirk Cousins for Fernando Mendoza?

Cousins presumably is on track to start Las Vegas' Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13. That said, former player and current analyst Domonique Foxworth explained during Monday's segment that "Mendoza's readiness" will help decide when the first-year pro receives the keys to the team's offense. 

"But also," Foxworth continued, "I think what's more likely is Kirk Cousins' performance and this team's in general performance is going to decide how quickly Mendoza plays, because I don't think people are going to care much about him not getting his steps right when the (cornerbacks) in press are off if they're out there 0-2 or 0-3 and Kirk Cousins is playing poorly."

In short, Cousins may have to stay healthy and have a winning record to still be the Raiders' starter for their Week 8 game at the New York Jets on Nov. 1.