Las Vegas Raiders HC Klint Kubiak isn’t playing around about a decision he seems to be standing on firmly
The Las Vegas Raiders have the future of their franchise in Fernando Mendoza, but Kirk Cousins is still QB1 according to Kubiak.
The Las Vegas Raiders lost their first preseason game of the year to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, but a preseason loss doesn’t always tell the full story.
What the game did reveal is that quarterback Kirk Cousins looked sharp on the opening scripted drive, and head coach Klint Kubiak made it clear afterward that the veteran signal-caller is in command of the Raiders’ QB1 spot heading into the 2026 season.
Cousins finished the opening drive 5 for 6 for 50 yards on a 10-play, 68-yard possession. He hit tight end Michael Mayer for the touchdown on a great move by Mayer, connected with Jack Bech on a big third-down conversion, and found Jalen Nailor on another third-down conversion.
He spread the ball around effectively and showed comfort operating under center with play-action looks and handoffs to running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders only gave Cousins one drive before pulling him, but it was enough to confirm what training camp has been suggesting.
Kubiak leaves no doubt about the QB situation
After the game, Kubiak was direct about where things stand.
“Kirk’s been getting the reps with the ones. He has had a solid camp. The job is his to lose,” Kubiak said.
That might sound alarming to fans who want to see Fernando Mendoza start, but Kubiak seems firm on Cousins being the guy. The Raiders have identified a league-wide problem: teams have been bad at developing quarterbacks.
Las Vegas doesn’t want to make that same mistake with Mendoza by throwing him into the fire and potentially stunting his growth, especially when they have a capable veteran in front of him who can win football games right now.
Mendoza showed well, but the plan remains the same
Mendoza did play well when he got his opportunity in the preseason game, orchestrating a touchdown drive of his own. Kubiak mentioned he wants to find a way to get Mendoza more reps with the starters going forward, which is encouraging for the rookie’s development even if the starting job belongs to Cousins.
The next test comes this week against the Houston Texans, both in joint practices and in the preseason game. Houston has the best defense in the NFL, and that matchup should provide a much better measuring stick for where Cousins and the offense stand.
Cousins should get most of the reps with the ones again, but Mendoza could see some first-team work mixed in. If the Raiders sit Cousins entirely for the rest of the preseason, that tells the whole story — the team is already locked in on Cousins as the Week 1 starter. If they continue letting both quarterbacks duke it out, then the competition was always real.
Either way, Kubiak has been dead set on Kirk Cousins being the guy. The preseason opener only reinforced it.
