It may have been his plan all along heading into his first year as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, but Klint Kubiak confirmed who his starting quarterback will be to begin training camp this week.It’s veteran Kirk Cousins – not Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders’ No.1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft."When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins in the starting quarterback.
He’s the guy, and he’s going to get a ton of reps.He deserves them because he’s played really good football," Kubiak told the press, via NFL.com.
"But I want Fernando and I want Aidan [O’Connell] to push him."CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMKirk Cousins of the Las Vegas Raiders practices during an OTA offseason workout at the Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters/Intermountain Health Performance Center on June 3, 2026, in Henderson, Nev.(Getty Images)Fans and media weren’t waiting anxiously for Kubiak’s decision, as he’s been straightforward with his thoughts after taking over as head coach following a Super Bowl-winning season as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator last year.
But this solidifies the plan, at least to begin training camp.While coaches can lead training camp with players in starting roles, nothing is final until players walk on the gridiron Week 1.And that’s exactly Kubiak’s thought process.TOM BRADY SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE TO RAIDERS ROOKIE FERNANDO MENDOZA: EARN YOUR OPPORTUNITY"For every position, there’s gotta be competition, right?" he added.
"The best player has to play, and that’s not just what I’m gonna see.You guys are gonna see it in the preseason games.
We as coaches, we’re gonna see who the best guard is, the best quarterback, across the board."There’s battles everywhere on the roster.It’s important for me to be fair to the players to put the best player out there."Kubiak has noted in the past that the ideal scenario for the Raiders is Cousins starting and Mendoza developing and learning from the 14-year si...