Fernando Mendozas time will have to wait Raiders staying put at QB

The Raiders have a future to develop.But Klint Kubiak still has games he intends to win.And for now, the coach believes Kirk Cousins gives them their best chance.Kubiak made that abundantly clear Monday, opening his weekly press conference by affirming Cousins remains the Raiders’ starting quarterback and dismissing the notion of a quarterback change.“Kirk is our starting quarterback,” Kubiak said.

“There is no controversy.”Fernando Mendoza’s opportunity will come.It just won’t come this week.The declaration settled the most pressing personnel question facing a team whose fourth consecutive loss Sunday against the Rams intensified calls to begin the next chapter at quarterback.At 3-4, with their promising start giving way to familiar frustrations, the Raiders face an increasingly difficult balancing act: trying to salvage the season in front of them while preparing the quarterback expected to define the seasons ahead.Kubiak’s decision makes clear which objective takes precedence this week.Winning.And with the beatable Jets up next on the schedule, and a chance to get back to even and potentially position themselves to make a postseason run over the final nine games, they will continue to ride things out with Cousins.“Kirk’s playing really well, and we’re in the hunt,” Kubiak said.  “It’ really important that we keep playing really well behind him and continue to develop Fernando.” That means sticking with Cousins, whose experience and familiarity with the offense remain central to the argument for keeping him on the field, even as the results make that position harder to sell.The Raiders used the first overall pick on Mendoza to change the trajectory of their franchise.

Every week he watches is another week without the game experience that eventually must become part of his development.But Kubiak’s position reflects a different calculation: The Raiders still have something to play for, and he is sticking with the veteran to pursue...