Stuck for years in a state of limbo at the most important position on the field, the Las Vegas Raiders finally have the player they believe will be a future star at quarterback: No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Fresh off an undefeated season and national title at Indiana — not to mention winning the Heisman Trophy — Mendoza will undoubtedly seize the reins under center at some point, probably fairly early on in his career.
But the present is a little bit more up in the air. The Raiders signed Kirk Cousins, a longtime NFL starting quarterback with playoff experience, precisely so that Mendoza wouldn’t be thrown into the fire if he wasn’t ready.
So far, it’s not clear who has the edge in this key position battle in Las Vegas. One NFL legend made his thoughts known, however.
Greg Olsen on the Las Vegas Raiders’ Quarterback Battle
GettyHENDERSON, NEVADA – JUNE 09: (L) Kirk Cousins #8 and Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders warmup during mandatory minicamp at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center on June 09, 2026 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Louis Grasse/Getty Images)
“I think it’s always an interesting conversation now in the NFL,” Olsen said on Good Morning Football. “What is the right path with a young quarterback? Do you start the rookie right away and let them drink from the firehose and just learn on the job — real-time experience. Or if you have a reliable, veteran guy like Kirk, let him take the role, let Fernando sit back, learn, and ease in.”
“We went through it a little bit with Cam Newton — now, we didn’t really have an established veteran at the time — but the question was always: as long as the rookie can get in there and he’s not just completely thrown to the fire, there’s a decent support system around him. You know, a decent defense, a decent run game, offensive line, the coaches have a good view of how to protect and get the best out of a young quarterback.”
Greg Olsen on the Raiders’ Approach with Fernando Mendoza
“I have always been of the school of thought of you let them play,” Olsen continued. “You get them out as soon as you can because there is nothing like real-time NFL reps. There will be interceptions, there’s gonna be bad plays, but those real-time reps, I think, speeds the development clock up. If you don’t feel like your team is ready to support a young quarterback, and you think it’s gonna be actually counter-productive to their development — you’re not gonna be able to protect them, you’re not gonna be able to get the run game to complement — then I would probably take a step back.”
“Because what you don’t want, as much as you want to push forward the development, I also think you have to be very careful in this day and age. You don’t want to pull back, you don’t want to stunt any of that early growth, and now you have to overcome some of those scars as time goes on. So that’s what the front office, that’s what the coaching staff has to evaluate. ‘How’s our roster? How do we feel about the guys around him?’ And I think that goes into it every bit as much as, ‘Is Fernando Mendoza ready to play as a rookie?’ I think there’s a lot more to it than that.”
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