It took longer than it has for most quarterbacks drafted first overall, but Fernando Mendoza’s time has come in Las Vegas.
Tuesday’s trade of Kirk Cousins means that Mendoza is now the No. 1 quarterback for the Raiders and he’ll make his first NFL start in Sunday’s game against the Seahawks. The Raiders went into the season determined to give Mendoza as much time as possible to learn from Cousins and their 4-5 start made it possible to stick with the plan rather than turn attention to the future.
The move would have waited a little while longer if the Vikings were not motivated buyers in the wake of Monday night’s disastrous performance against the Bills, but General Manager John Spytek said at a Tuesday press conference that the trade would not have happened without Mendoza showing the team that he’s ready.
“It’s something that he’s worked very hard for since the moment he walked into this building,” Spytek said. “He passed every test. I want to stop short of saying he’s earned it, but he put us in a position where we had to make a really hard decision today with his growth as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, as a quarterback.”
While the Raiders feel Mendoza is ready, it is a big change to go from the practice field to game action and the Seahawks are a tough first opponent for the rookie. The Raiders drafted Mendoza to be their leader, however, and head coach Klint Kubiak said Mendoza has “exceeded those expectations” while learning from a good teacher.
“I think with the right role model that will accelerate his growth and we had, you know, we had the right role model,” Kubiak said.
Becoming the starter is just the beginning for Mendoza and it kicks off an era the Raiders hope will bring them back to the upper rungs of the AFC in the years to come.