- Klint Kubiak said Kirk Cousins is the starter and wants Fernando Mendoza and Aidan O’Connell to push him.
- Cousins averaged 6.4 yards per attempt last season and completed 61.7 percent, his lowest rate since 2013.
- Cousins is guaranteed $20 million for 2026, with Atlanta owing $8.7 million of it and Las Vegas $11.3 million.
- The Raiders’ win total is 5.5 wins, five wins behind Kansas City and the Chargers.
LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak named Kirk Cousins his starting quarterback to open training camp Tuesday, leaving No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza with the second unit a day before the team’s first practice.
Kubiak Hands The First Team To The Veteran
“When we go out to practice, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback,” Kubiak said Tuesday. “He’s the guy, and he deserves it because he’s played really good football.” Kubiak added that he wants Mendoza and O’Connell, a three-year Raider, to push Cousins.
Cousins took the majority of first-team repetitions through the offseason program while Mendoza and O’Connell worked with the lower units. Kubiak called the camp split fluid rather than fixed, with some first-team snaps going to the backups and some second-team work going to the starter. Kubiak also coached Cousins in Minnesota from 2019 through 2021, so the veteran arrived in Nevada fluent in an offense the rookie has to learn from scratch.
The Line Behind “Really Good Football”
The football Kubiak praised produced modest numbers. Cousins, who is 37 and entering his 15th NFL season, played 10 games for the Atlanta Falcons last season. He started eight of those games and completed 61.7 percent of his throws, his lowest rate since a five-game 2013 season, for a season total of 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions with an 84.8 passer rating.
The figure that matters most in a Kubiak offense is the 6.4 yards per attempt. That is a short, high-percentage passing profile from a quarterback who was not completing a high percentage, and it caps how much explosive value the passing game can generate without a heavy dose of play-action and yards after the catch.
The Contract Says Bridge, Not Answer
Cousins signed in Las Vegas in April, before the Raiders spent the first pick of the NFL Draft on Mendoza. Only the $20 million for this season is fully guaranteed. His Raiders salary is $1.3 million, Atlanta owes $8.7 million of the guarantee under the offset in his old contract, and the remaining $10 million is a fully guaranteed roster bonus the Raiders pay in the 2027 offseason.
Mendoza signed a four-year rookie contract worth a fully guaranteed $57.27 million on July 23, with a fifth-year option. He won the Heisman Trophy and a national title at Indiana last season. Benching Cousins would not change a dollar of what Las Vegas already owes him, which is the tell on how long Tuesday’s depth chart is meant to hold.
The Market Priced Cousins In April
Because Cousins signed in April, legal sports betting futures boards were priced on a veteran starter months before Tuesday. The Raiders’ regular-season win total is 5.5 at Bovada, with the over at -145 and the under at +110. That over price implies about 60 percent, which is what the payout assumes rather than what the season will do.
The context around the number is harsher than the number itself. Bovada also has Kansas City at 10.5 wins in the same division, along with Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers at 9.5-win projections, leaving the Raiders five games behind the top of the AFC West on the same board. Las Vegas is +15000 to win Super Bowl LXI, tied with Cleveland for the fourth-longest price among all 32 teams.
Nevada has run a state-regulated market longer than any other state, and the retail counters that make Las Vegas sports betting its own category will hang Raiders numbers all season.
First Practice Wednesday, Texans Joint Practice Aug. 18
The Raiders hold their first practice Wednesday at the Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson. Five practices are open to fans, on Aug. 2, Aug. 3, Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 at the facility and Aug. 11 at Allegiant Stadium. Las Vegas travels to Houston for a joint practice with the Texans on Aug. 18.
