Kirk Cousins is still a bridge quarterback for the Raiders, holding down the starting job until No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is ready. Alex Smith did that for Patrick Mahomes for one season, and Aaron Rodgers held off Jordan Love for three seasons.
Cousins has already served in that role once, starting 14 games for the Falcons in 2024 before they turned to first-round rookie Michael Penix. (Cousins ended up starting eight games last season when Penix was injured.)
With the Raiders off to a 3-0 start, though, no one is calling for Mendoza.
“We’re just worried about playing the next game, and [Cousins is] playing this next game,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said, via Mark Anderson of the Associated Press. “Fernando’s ready to go when called upon.”
Cousins has won seven games in a row, the league’s longest active streak. He can become the first quarterback since the 1970 merger to win four consecutive games for two teams in the same streak.
Cousins has thrown nine touchdown passes and three interceptions and his passer rating of 107.2 ranks eighth.
“That’s the great part about this league is you’ve got to go out every single week and prove it to yourself, prove it to everyone else,” Cousins said. “So I’ve never really felt like anything was going to be handed to me or given to me. You’ve got to go out and play at that level, and I think the opportunity was what I was more interested in, was just having an opportunity to go see. But you’ve got to go do it.”