Kirk Cousins
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 22: Kirk Cousins #18 of the Atlanta Falcons participates in warmups prior to the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on August 22, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a five-year, $172 million deal, but it’s not what it looks like on the surface.
The contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is essentially a one-year, fully guaranteed $20 million contract with a two-year, $80M team option. The Atlanta Falcons are also paying $8.7M this season, while the Raiders will cover just $1.3 million this season, plus a $10M guaranteed roster bonus in 2027.
It’s a good deal for the Raiders, but this type of money also signals that Cousins will be the team’s starter Week 1, despite everyone knowing Las Vegas will draft Indiana QB, Fernando Mendoza.
Klint Kubiak did say on Tuesday that ideally a rookie QB “can sit behind a mature adult,” rather than starting from Day 1, and Cousins gave his thoughts on that exact situation.
Raiders QB Kirk Cousins Sends A Message on Fernando Mendoza Sitting
Fernando Mendoza
GettyFernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers scrambles during the 2026 IU Pro Day.
Sitting down with Kevin Clark on This is Football!, Kirk Cousins was asked what he would change about QB development, and he mentioned having rookies sit and learn before they are thrown out as the starter.
“Well, I do think that there was a time when Aaron Rodgers got drafted and sat for three years. Carson Palmer got drafted and sat for a year. There have been teams that have said that was the plan, and then Week 4, 5, 6, the guys playing. So I also think there was a time when coaches stuck around and a quarterback learned a system and played in that system most of his career. …So the guys who are on the back end and are able to build up that experience can deal with that maybe a little more, but the young guys you wanna give as much continuity as you can and just hasn’t been the environment many guys, including a Sam Darnold, have been given. …When you’re asking a talented player to kind of rewire his brain and do something different, he’s not gonna be the same talented player because he’s gonna be a step slower and he’s gonna be learning and thinking again. You wanna take that thinking out of it. The more you can be a Tom Brady or a Drew Brees, who’s been in the same system for 15 years, the better quarterback play you’re gonna get.”
Cousins and Kubiak share the same mindset when it comes to deciding to have a rookie QB start right off the bat, and they both want what’s best for Fernando Mendoza.
Brett Kollmann
I actually think the best possible thing for Fernando Mendoza’s career is having Kirk Cousins in the room.
More on Cousins, Mendoza
Kirk Cousins also mentioned how he’s had nine play-callers in his career (about to be 10 with Kubiak), and 11 quarterback coaches. That’s not the path that he wants Fernando Mendoza to take, and the hope is that Mendoza can build up years of continuity with Kubiak in Vegas.
“So the turnover has both coaches and teammates, I think that makes it really hard because it is such a team game,” Cousins added. “The position of quarterback requires a continuity around you that you just don’t have anymore.”
Cousins isn’t coming in to compete with Mendoza for the starting spot. He will start Week 1, as evidenced by choosing to sign with the Raiders over multiple teams, including the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Green Bay Packers.
However, having Mendoza sit to start his career isn’t the Raiders believing he can’t perform at a high level on Day 1.
Having Mendoza sit to start his career would help me learn the ropes and build experience in another way, similar to what Rodgers and Brady went through, so when the time comes, he’ll be more than ready to take the reins as the Raiders’ franchise quarterback for years to come.