Raiders' 'hope' was that Kirk Cousins would continue starting over Fernando Mendoza 'a few more weeks'

Days after what was once a 3-0 Las Vegas Raiders team fell to 4-5, the Raiders agreed to trade starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to a 6-2 Minnesota Vikings side in desperate need of an upgrade at the position in return for a 2027 third-round draft pick.

Las Vegas' decision put rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza on track to make his first regular-season start when the Raiders host the 5-4 Seattle Seahawks this coming Sunday. For a piece published on Friday morning, ESPN's Dan Graziano revealed that the Raiders entered last weekend prepared to hold onto Cousins. 

Vikings, Raiders had timetables "sped up"

According to Graziano, the Raiders' "hope" was that Cousins would continue starting over Mendoza beyond the NFL trade deadline, which arrived this past Tuesday.

"As recently as last weekend," Graziano explained, "there were people in that organization who wanted to stick to the plan -- to keep Cousins past the trade deadline and hold off on playing Mendoza a few more weeks, maybe even until after their Week 13 bye. The Vikings called the Raiders about Cousins prior to last weekend, but it wasn't until after Sunday that they felt there was a chance Vegas would trade him. Tuesday's trade deadline -- and a disastrous performance by Carson Wentz for the Vikings on Monday night -- sped up both teams' timetables."

A previous report noted that the Raiders gave Cousins a say regarding his future, in part because he "knew it was a matter of time until Mendoza took over." However, it sounds like that wouldn't have been the case had the Raiders not lost five of six games through Nov. 8. 

Raiders' handling of their Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza situation was unique

"From 2006 to 2025," Graziano added, "there were 41 quarterbacks selected in the top 10 overall. Of those 41, only six did not start at least one of their teams' first eight games in their respective rookie seasons, per ESPN Research. And only two of those six -- JaMarcus Russell and Jared Goff -- were picked first overall. The others were Jake Locker, Patrick Mahomes, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy. That's a pretty wide range of outcomes, and it shows why there's no set playbook for how to do this."

Multiple people within the Raiders made it known this week they are confident Mendoza is ready to take over as the club's QB1 and as the CEO of its offense. Meanwhile, Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post pointed out on Thursday that Mendoza still has a "big brother" on the roster in backup Aidan O'Connell. 

O'Connell, 28, has been with the Raiders since they selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. 

That said, the Raiders may regret trading Cousins if Mendoza looks like a rookie while losing more than he wins through early January. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Las Vegas as a 6.5-point home underdog against Seattle.