There were so many things to like about the Las Vegas Raiders’ schedule release video on Thursday night, but our favorite thing from it is the Star Wars-themed nickname it gave quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Raiders went with a spoof of the classic comedy movie “Step Brothers” that starred Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.
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Mendoza and fellow quarterback Kirk Cousins played the roles of Reilly’s and Ferrell’s characters and even re-enacted one of the film’s most iconic scenes.
While all that was going on, Mendoza called himself “The Nandalorian,” which is a reference to the hit Star Wars show, “The Mandalorian.”
Here’s the exchange in the video that led to Mendoza’s perfect nickname:
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Cousins: I’m Kirk.
Mendoza: I’m Fernando.
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Cousins: You’re gonna have to call me “Kirko Chains.”
Mendoza: Cool. You’re gonna have to call me “The Nandalorian.”
We can only hope this nickname actually sticks past just the schedule release video, because it’s awesome, even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan.
It was also cool to see that Mendoza and Cousins have such a friendly relationship, even though they will be competing for a starting job in 2026.
Will Fernando Mendoza start this season?
May 2, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) speaks during a news conference at the team’s Rookie Minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
It remains to be seen if Fernando Mendoza will be starting in Week 1.
We know there will be a quarterback competition between Cousins and Mendoza, and we know Cousins has the advantage there because of his experience.
However, Cousins has also shown significant decline in recent years, so it’s certainly not crazy to think Mendoza can beat him out.
While the expectation for a No. 1 overall pick is always to start right away, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak has made it clear in the past he doesn’t prefer that method with a rookie signal-caller, so that could be the approach with Mendoza.
“Ideally, you don’t want him to start from Day 1. “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,” Kubiak said before the Raiders drafted Mendoza in April.
“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,” Kubiak added.
Even if Mendoza doesn’t start right away, it may not be long before we see him take the field.
After all, Cousins is anything but guaranteed to play well enough to hold on to the starting job after what we’ve seen of him in recent years.