Raiders 'thinking about everything' after latest loss, including potentially starting Fernando Mendoza over Kirk Cousins at QB

Posted by Admin October 26, 2026 NFL

Kirk Cousins’ time as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders may be coming to an end.

Despite what’s been a pretty good performance from Cousins this season, and a late surge on Sunday afternoon, the Raiders dropped a fourth straight game this week and now sit at just 3-4. It’s a stark change from the team that won three consecutive games to open the year.

And with reigning Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza waiting, Cousins knows the franchise will move away from him eventually. It’s just a matter of time. When that happens, though, remains to be seen.

“I think at this point, we’re thinking about everything to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the red zone, in the third quarter, personnel [and] scheme,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said, via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. “We’ve got to talk about all of it.”

Cousins went 26-of-44 for 295 yards and threw two touchdowns while completing just shy of 60% of his passes in the Raiders’ 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The 38-year-old has thrown for 1,877 yards and an NFL-best 16 touchdowns so far this season.

Though he’s playing well, Cousins knows his time in the role is limited, especially if they keep losing. He knew that when he signed with the team in April, and he’s not trying to force anything. If Mendoza makes the team better, he said, he’s all for stepping aside.

“I want the football team to have the best chance to win games,” Cousins said. “The first OTA [practice this fall], if that had become apparent, I would’ve been the first one to say, ‘Yeah, you can’t play me.'”

Mendoza had already made his NFL debut, too. He came in late during the Raiders’ loss to the New England Patriots earlier this month, and went 6-of-8 for 48 yards. But he’s not made a start yet, and has instead been practicing behind Cousins ever since he was drafted.

The Raiders will take on the New York Jets next week. Making a switch at quarterback won’t automatically solve their problems, either. The Raiders’ defense gave up 386 total yards on Sunday, almost 200 of which came on the ground. By comparison, the Raiders haven’t ran for more than 100 yards in a single game as a group since the losing skid started. Ashton Jeanty only had 15 yards on eight carries on Sunday.

But regardless, a quarterback switch will come. Maybe it happens next Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Maybe it happens in a few weeks. Maybe it happens next season. But it is coming.

Until then, Cousins is very content in his unique role.

“I’m going to try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can, help us win and give [Mendoza] a great example to learn from until he does go out there eventually,” Cousins said.