The Las Vegas Raiders have upgraded their QB situation from last season, when they had Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett start games. Over this offseason, the Silver and Black signed veteran Kirk Cousins and drafted Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.
Now, the question surrounding the Raiders will be who starts Week 1? Will new head coach Klint Kubiak allow Mendoza to watch and learn behind Cousins, or, if the rookie QB is clearly better than the veteran, will they allow him to start right out the gate?
On April 23, former Raiders star Kirk Morrison shared his thoughts on the QB situation with Mendoza officially in the fold now.
“This is a different situation coming in with Klint Kubiak,” Morrison said during an appearance on the Raiders’ YouTube channel. “This is going to be a process, and when Fernando is ready, Fernando will go out there and play. But Kirk Cousins is going to be a guy who may start as the No. 1. They always love that they can go out there and compete. That’s what training camp is for.
“We are going to be able to grade who is ready and who’s not. All of us will be at training camp. We’ll watch Fernando go through it. They can’t hide us from practice in training camp. We’re going to see if Fernando is ready. We’re going to watch the preseason.”
Fernando Mendoza Will Need to Earn Starting Job
Moreover, Morrison didn’t say that Mendoza should sit on the sidelines. Nonetheless, the former NFL player notes that if the former Indiana Hoosiers star is going to play right out the gate, he’ll need to earn it.
“He’s got to earn his job, just like all the players,” Morrison added. “They’ve got to earn the decals on their helmets. Fernando’s got to earn this No. 1 overall pick; he has to be the starting quarterback.
“There’s no doubt he is going to start at some point for the Raiders, but he has to earn it. And I think you wouldn’t want it any other way. Don’t hand me anything. Let me go out there and earn it. And I think Fernando would say the same thing.”
Raiders GM Gets Blunt About Fernando Mendoza Selection
Despite many expecting Mendoza to be the pick, the Raiders did their homework on the player. After the announcement, Raiders general manager John Spytek spoke with team columnist Paul Gutierrez about why it made sense to pick Mendoza.
“We had a great process, and we promised ourselves, the ownership group, and the fans that we would do this the right way,” Spytek said on April 23 after the Raiders made the pick. “And we did not begin with the end in mind. This was not a coronation, but every step of the way, he kept checking boxes. I saw him three times in person — once in the fall and at the playoff games — and he played really well in all those games.
“We had a chance to visit with him at the combine, went to Bloomington to see his pro day, spent time with him, went to dinner with him, and then brought him here to Las Vegas and had a great day with him here, too. He just kept checking boxes along the way, and, you know, he made it pretty easy for us to realize that this is the right guy at the right time for the Raiders.”
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