Raiders' Klint Kubiak still won't name Week 1 QB starter, here's why all signs point to Kirk Cousins

Kubiak has said it's Cousins' job to lose, but won't officially name a QB1

Aug 28, 2026 at 1:57 pm ET • 3 min read

The Las Vegas Raiders are making us wait a bit longer to find out who the starting quarterback will be, as the competition between veteran Kirk Cousins and rookie first overall pick Fernando Mendoza comes to a close. Head coach Kirk Kubiak has been adamant about waiting to name his QB1, though many signs have pointed to Cousins as their guy. With just over two weeks until the team's opener against the Miami Dolphins, the mystery remains, but the hints are there.

Following the team's final preseason game, Kubiak said his No. 1 overall pick could benefit from a few more preseason games, but unfortunately for Mendoza, that's not something he has. The NFL now only holds three preseason games per team, meaning the players, especially the rookies, have less time to prove themselves and get those valuable in-game reps.

"[Mendoza] needs another three preseason games, all those rookies do. Now that the season's starting the practice reps get smaller and that's just life," Kubiak said after the Raiders' 18-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday. "Us as coaches we gotta get them ready to play, keep developing them."

The HC noted that this time in the preseason is beneficial not only for the rookie to learn from his own reps but also for him to learn from Cousins. Kubiak called the time "very valuable" for Mendoza.

"I'd love to play [Mendoza] the whole game but there's other guys we want to get looked at and I thought overall this preseason that we got him plenty of time," Kubiak said.

Both played in Thursday's game, with Cousins taking the first two drives and Mendoza taking over until the beginning of the fourth quarter, when he was swapped for Aidan O'Connell.

The 38-year-old went 8 of 11 with 51 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions, while Mendoza went 7 of 14 with 57 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and two sacks, producing a low passer rating. It was not as strong as his debut, where Mendoza went 10 of 16 with 97 yards, one touchdown and one sack against the Arizona Cardinals.

Cousins began training camp as the starting quarterback and has been listed first on the depth chart throughout the practices. He's led the first-team offense through training camp and has seemed to have the edge in the competition since the beginning. When Cousins has struggled, Mendoza hasn't been able to outplay him when his chances come. Despite some great moments in camp, Mendoza had some lowlights as well, including a pick-six during joint practice with the Texans.

At the start of preseason, Kubiak said Cousins was in charge of his own fate, noting, "Kirk's been getting the reps with the ones. I think he's had a solid training camp, and it's his job to lose."

He referred to Cousins as the starter on Day 1, on July 28, but hasn't mentioned it again since then.

"When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback," Kubiak said at the time. "He's the guy, and he's going to get a ton of reps. He deserves them because he's played really good football. But I want Fernando and I want Aidan (O'Connell) to push him."

Looking at his preseason numbers compared to Mendoza, Cousins hasn't struggled enough to hand the rookie the job, and the No. 1 pick hasn't excelled enough to make an obvious leap ahead.

Here's a look at how Cousins and Mendoza have compared in their three preseason games:

Game 1 vs. Cardinals	Completions	Passing yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Cousins	10/16	97	1	0
Mendoza (NFL Debut)	5/6	50	1	0

Game 2 vs. Texans	Completions	Passing yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Cousins (didn't play)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mendoza	8/15	86	0	1 (pick six)

Game 3 vs. 49ers	Completions	Passing yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Cousins	8/11	51	0	0
Mendoza	7/14	57	0	1

The Raiders begin the season at home on Sept. 13 and will head just up the road to Los Angeles in Week 2 to take on the Chargers.