The Las Vegas Raiders are in Year 1 of a rebuild. However, the team have the most important aspect already secured, a potential franchise QB after selecting Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick.
Furthermore, the team has a new head coach in Klint Kubiak, who brings Super Bowl-winning experience as the former offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.
Nonetheless, those are two building blocks in the rebuild. The Silver and Black still have other areas of the team that need improvement, but becoming a contender in the AFC won’t happen in one offseason.
Speaking with Vegas Today Sports, Raiders fan Ice Cube shared his thoughts on the direction the team is going, with Mendoza as the face of the rebuild.
“We gotta see,” Ice Cube said in a May 7 video from Vegas Today Sports. “He’s a rookie. You can’t expect too much. He’s a rookie. We got a new coach, new staff, everybody new in the building pretty much. So it’s gonna take some time to gel and mesh. Fans should give them that time. They should give the Raiders that time and see what they really can do.”
Raiders Owner Mark Davis on the Team’s Offseason
Moreover, Ice Cube isn’t the only one sounding optimistic about the Raiders’ future. The team’s owner, Mark Davis, recently spoke and expressed his excitement about the direction of the Silver and Black as they look to become one of the contenders in the AFC once again.
“The offseason has been very strong for us,” Davis said on May 7 during an appearance on Radier Nation Radio. “We continually win the offseason. It’s time to now make it translate to the regular season. I do feel a different vibe around this building right now.
“Everybody really is working together. Everybody seems to be on the same page. It seems like we’re ready to go for long-term, sustained growth now.
“With Fernando Mendoza coming in as potentially the starting quarterback, it’s just so exciting. We’ve got the pieces in place. It’s going to take a while to get all the players and everything, but I believe that we’re at the forefront of getting this thing going again.”
RG III Gets Blunt About Las Vegas’ QB Situation
With the draft in the rear-view mirror, the Raiders will now need to analyze their QB situation to determine who will be the Week 1 starter in a few months. Now that veteran Kirk Cousins is in the fold, the Silver and Black likely want Mendoza to sit and learn.
Nonetheless, there’s a chance Mendoza outplays Cousins in training camp and the preseason, forcing the team’s hand to play him rather than going with the veteran.
During the April 28 edition of “The Herd,” former NFL QB Robert Griffin III shared his thoughts on the Raiders’ QB situation, stating that winning 10 games for Las Vegas is a possibility if Mendoza starts from Week 1.
“I don’t think the Raiders winning 10 games is out of the question, but I think they only win 10 games if Fernando Mendoza is the starter Day 1,” Griffin said. “The reason I say that is you talked about bringing in Tyler Linderbaum.
“That takes a little bit off the quarterback when it comes to diagnosing the defense, the run fronts, where’s the pressure coming from. Not that Fernando Mendoza can’t do that. We certainly know that Kirk Cousins has experience doing that…
“I think Fernando brings this team the identity that they need from the quarterback position, from a leadership standpoint. This guy’s willing to do anything it takes to help his team win games. He’s not there to pad stats. He’s not there to look good on the box score. He only wants to win.”
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