How Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza are building 'great' relationship through Raiders work, faith and more

Danny Parkins, Greg Jennings and Geoff Schwartz discussed whether Fernando Mendoza should start Week 1 and whether Shedeur Sanders could take Deshaun Watson's job.

Kirk Cousins is no stranger to new places and new faces in his NFL career.

Cousins became part of his fourth franchise when he joined the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason ahead of his 15th year in the league. But the writing was also on the wall before he signed to reunite with Klint Kubiak and some other coaches he's worked with in the past.

The Raiders had the No. 1 overall pick – they were going to be taking Fernando Mendoza.

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins watches Fernando Mendoza warm up before a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nev. (Getty Images)

That came to fruition weeks after Cousins inked his new deal with the Raiders. And, while it may not be a similar situation, Cousins has previously dealt with having a first-round draft choice with him in the quarterback room.

When Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons, it was a shock to the football world that they drafted Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

This time around, not choosing Mendoza would've been the shock of the draft.

The situation is similar for Cousins, though. He's not with the Raiders to simply help Mendoza along, but rather head coach Klint Kubiak has been very straightforward about Cousins being the team's starting quarterback to open training camp. And even though Kubiak hasn't officially named Cousins the starter heading into the regular season, the veteran has been taking most of the first-team reps at