Kirk Cousins took every first-team rep at the Las Vegas Raiders’ open OTAs practice on Wednesday as the team continues to withhold a formal starting-quarterback announcement.
Cousins led the rotation, followed by Aidan O’Connell, with rookie Fernando Mendoza working third and spending most competitive periods with other newcomers. The Raiders have not announced when they will name a starting quarterback.
The drills offered an unvarnished look at why the competition remains unresolved. Cousins completed a series of strong throws in team work, corrected a misaligned receiver to salvage a play and celebrated exuberantly after a late first-down conversion. Each quarterback, coaches said, appeared to get roughly equal snaps during team drills.
Coach Klint Kubiak refused to collapse the picture into a simple endorsement. “It’s gonna reveal itself here in the next eight OTAs and these minicamp practices,” he said, adding that, “We definitely would (like to name a starter), but we’ll let the players figure that out for us with their tape.” General manager John Spytek kept the door open as well: “the best guy will play.”
The context is plain: the Raiders are using OTAs and minicamp to sort a quarterback room that mixes veteran experience with rookie promise. Kubiak has signaled a preference not to rush a young passer into live games, and Mendoza has acknowledged the work ahead, telling reporters, “I have a lot of learning to do” about playing under center in a West Coast scheme.
Still, Kubiak has publicly praised Mendoza’s process. “Anything that you put in front of him, he’s going to attack it,” Kubiak said. “Anything that’s new, he spends extra time on it. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next.” The coach called him “very coachable,” added, “He’s as advertised,” and said, “He has not disappointed.” Mendoza, for his part, sought critique from offensive staff after mistakes and was singled out for improvement during drills.
The friction in the story comes from how those assessments square with Cousins’ visible command. Kubiak described Cousins as “a professional,” someone who “has played a lot of football,” and “a leader that we’re counting on right now,” noting that “you see the fire come out” when sessions turn competitive. Yet the team’s posture remains evaluative: veterans get reps, rookies get eased in, and no roster hierarchy has been declared.
Wednesday’s practice produced one additional, quieter note. Crosby — who had been tied to a trade to the Baltimore Ravens that fell apart in March — was on the field for the first time since that episode, but he did not participate. He stretched off to the side without a helmet or jersey, a reminder that roster and personnel questions are still settling even as on-field pecking orders take shape.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential: the next eight OTAs and the upcoming minicamp practices will provide the tape Kubiak and his staff insist they need. If Cousins continues to lead and make the competitive plays he showed Wednesday, he will be difficult to ignore; if Mendoza or O’Connell carve clearer, cleaner moments under pressure, the club’s public patience will be rewarded. For now, the Raiders are letting practice — not pronouncement — determine who starts.
