The Las Vegas Raiders have competing quarterbacks, and Fernando Mendoza commented on this yet again.
The Las Vegas Raiders have a quarterback compeition of sorts going on, and media and fans have tried to frame it as Fernando Mendoza vs. Kirk Cousins. It’s a shiny storyline that plays well in camp previews, but that’s not exactly how Mendoza sees it, according to a report from Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Mendoza finally signed his rookie contract last week, which means his focus will totally be on the field as the Raiders start training camp. Not that it hasn’t been to date, but the latest reports have Mendoza getting a little bit of work with the first team.
Kirk Cousins will get most of that work, and all eyes will be on Mendoza to see if he can push Cousins and turn this into a genuine competition to see who starts.
Alper also reference an appearance on the Raiders’ Upon Further Review podcast, as Mendoza tried to adjust the language about what’s currently happening in Las Vegas, saying that the two quarterbacks will “be competing with each other, not competing against each other” in the coming weeks.
“Competing with each other [is] pushing each other to be the best quarterback we can possibly be for the Las Vegas Raiders, and to enable [us] to then win as many games as possible,” Mendoza said. “Against [is] withholding information, wishing maybe not the best intent on somebody.”
File this one under another edition of “saying the right thing.” This has been an obvious priority for Mendoza for a while now, and it’s fairly clear at this point that he wants to shape his own narrative.
He did talk about the offense specifically, though, saying “there’s just so many different intricacies” to coach Klint Kubiak’s design, and Mendoza added that he’s looking forward to learning more from Cousins, Kubiak and anyone else who has something to offer.
“It’s basically all in the palm of my hand and I just need to take advantage of it,” Mendoza said.
The emphasis will shift from talking to doing very soon, though, and that’s when Mendoza will start to lose at least some control over the narrative. His performance on the field will ultimaltey determine what gets said and written, even if he’s something of a background figure for the next couple of weeks.
As Alper noted, though, the Raiders’ future is pinned to Mendoza taking advantages of his opportunities, and questions will quickly follow and pile up if he stumbles or fails to do that right away.
