The Las Vegas Raiders have made a significant addition to their quarterbacks room and it'll be interesting to see what it means for Fernando Mendoza.
On Thursday, the Raiders signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who will now join a room that includes Aidan O'Connell and, later this month, Mendoza.
We would suspect this signing means the end of O'Connell in Las Vegas, and nobody will be crying the blues because of that.
But what does this mean for Mendoza's chances of starting right away?
Will Cousins start over Mendoza?
This is a possibility, especially after what head coach Klint Kubiak said recently.
Kubiak told reporters while at the NFL Annual League Meeting this week that he would prefer Mendoza sit and develop, which opens the door for Cousins, not Mendoza, to be under center in Week 1.
"Ideally, you don't want him to start from Day 1," Kubiak said. "You'd love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That's in a perfect world. It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes they have to play from Day 1, and it's our job as coaches to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show."
There are a few reasons why Kubiak would have this desire.
One reason is Mendoza simply may not be ready.
Of course, you'd expect a No. 1 pick to be ready to go right away in this day and age, but not every player develops at the same speed and some take longer than others.
Another reason is the Raiders don't have a great supporting cast and that will make things more difficult for the rookie.
Las Vegas is lacking weapons at wide receiver still, and the offensive line has a few spots that need to be addressed. As of right now, there are three locked-in starters with Kolton Miller, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Tyler Linderbaum.
Now, none of this is to say that Mendoza definitely won't start, but the Cousins signing offers the Raiders more flexibility in their ultimate decision, as well as someone who provides a better opportunity to win than O'Connell gives if the Indiana star does begin his career on the bench.
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