Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak has named Kirk Cousins, the 14-year NFL veteran, as the starting quarterback.
Cousins earned the position over Fernando Mendoza, the 2026 No. 1 NFL Draft pick.
“For every position, there’s gotta be competition, right? The best player has to play, and that’s not just what I’m gonna see,” Kubiak explained to reporters, according to the Raiders media team. “You guys are gonna see it in the preseason games. We as coaches, we’re gonna see who the best guard is, the best quarterback, across the board. There’s battles everywhere on the roster. It’s important for me to be fair to the players to put the best player out there.”
“When we go out to practice tomorrow, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback. He’s the guy, and he’s going to get a ton of reps,” the coach added. “He deserves them because he’s played really good football. But I want Fernando [Mendoza] and I want Aidan [O’Connell] to push him.”
When asked about the competition in the quarterback room, Cousins noted that he’s not the one in charge of his career — God is.
Related: Benched Kirk Cousins Prays with New Starter QB: ‘Humility’
“It’s helped to recognize Who owns my football career,” Cousins said on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast last month, “and I use the word ‘my’ loosely. Once I’ve come to the realization that I’m a steward and it’s my job to steward this football career and this football journey — which means that I need to give great effort, I need to prepare well, I need to lead well, I need to build relationships, there’s plenty for me to do as a steward. But it also frees you up to not stress about things. … The first thing to do in being a steward is to surrender.”
“Wherever you end up playing, you are sent by God, and He has a purpose for you being there,” he added.
Because of the age gap between Cousins and the other quarterbacks, some have suggested he is in a position to “mentor” them. While Cousins is honored with that title, he doesn’t see himself as that but as more of a friend to his teammates.
“I think it’s just a great daily conversation in the meeting room, certainly on the practice field, but even in the downtimes in the cafeteria,” he shared when asked about Mendoza and mentorship, according to NBC Sports. “The conversation can drift from football to other things, and we can all learn from each other. So, I enjoy being in here with the guys. When I’m at home in the summer, I get a lot of time with my family, which is nice too. But it’s also fun to hang out with a bunch of young 25-year-olds with a lot of energy, and they make me laugh. I was laughing almost till I cried yesterday at lunch. The guys are so funny. So, I didn’t have that the last six weeks in the summer break. So, it’s good to get back with everybody.”
As Cousins heads into training camp with the QB1 job in hand, he does so less concerned with holding off the competition than with simply stewarding well whatever comes next — trusting, as he put it, that he’s exactly where God has placed him.
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
