Raiders' veteran, rookie quarterbacks building a brotherhood this offseason

As a stretching period ended to commence the start of the second Raiders’ official offseason practice, the entire team came together in a circle at the goal line of one of the team’s fields at their headquarters in Henderson.

Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza were right in the middle, offering more high-fives and words of motivation than possibly any other pair of players on the roster.

Call it appropriate placement because the pair of freshly arrived quarterbacks are at the center of everything for the Raiders’ upcoming seventh season since moving to Las Vegas.

“Two really competitive guys,” head coach Klint Kubiak said after the practice. “I’ve been really pleased with their work ethic.”

The Raiders signed the 15-year NFL veteran Cousins, who will turn 38 years old before the start of the season, to what’s essentially a one-year contract in early April. They then selected the reigning Heisman Trophy- and College Football Playoff-winning Mendoza, who’s 22 years old, with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Both have spoken about an aim and confidence in bringing the best out of each other, but they’ll also be competing in practice over the next few months to see who earns the right to start. The Raiders open the 2026-2027 campaign September 13 at Allegiant Stadium against the Miami Dolphins.

“I made this clear to Klint: The best player needs to play,” Cousins said. “If that’s not me, I don’t want to be out there.”

The expectation for most of the offseason has been that Cousins will start the year. Raiders general manager John Spytek and de facto director of football operations Tom Brady have generally voiced a preference to slow a rookie into his first professional season.

But the NFL’s schedule announcement this month may have complicated those plans, as the Raiders’ toughest stretch of games comes in the middle of the season, when many assumed Mendoza would take over.

Now the Raiders may be more willing to get Mendoza on the field earlier against what should be more forgiving competition.

The nuances of the quarterback situation aren’t affecting the relationship between Cousins and Mendoza either way. Mendoza said Cousins was one of four Raiders to reach out to him immediately on draft night, and they’ve only connected more since both coming to Las Vegas for offseason team activities.

The Raiders’ social media team even produced some viral content out of their friendship, spoofing the 2008 film Step Brothers with its annual schedule reveal video starring the two quarterbacks.

“I’d love for him to focus on football more,” the no-nonsense Kubiak responded when asked how he’d rate Mendoza’s acting skills.

Kubiak and Co. might be trying to downplay it, but Mendoza has passed the test of his first few practices with flying colors. He’s looked like a natural in the admittedly small fraction of Kubiak’s offense that the Raiders are drilling. But he still primarily practiced with the rookies in the second full-team session.

Cousins took the bulk of the first-team snaps, with mainstay former starter Aidan O’Connell rotating in ahead of Mendoza.

“It’s good to start on the bottom of the totem pole,” Mendoza said. “I have a lot to learn and a lot of growing with great coaches and great players around me.” 

Kubiak is looking for perfection out of his quarterbacks. He won’t hesitate to offer any criticisms, including on something as trivial as the pre-practice encouragement circle. 

“I thought it was a little too lengthy,” he said. “We probably lost two minutes of practice time right there, so we can dap it up a little quicker next time.”