Mentor and Competitor: How Kirk Cousins is embracing his role with future teammate Fernando Mendoza

We’re just about two weeks away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and it’s almost certain that the Las Vegas Raiders will select Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick.

After leading Indiana to a National Championship and winning the Heisman Trophy last season, Mendoza becoming the first overall pick has been the worst-kept secret in football.

In typical Mendoza fashion, he has already begun working with former NFL quarterback and assistant coach Brian Griese to learn the Raiders’ playbook as he looks to pick up any advantage he can going into his first NFL the offseason.

While most of the attention surrounding the Raiders has been on Mendoza, he is not the only addition the Raiders will make to their quarterback room, as they also added veteran Kirk Cousins this offseason.

Cousins signed a five-year contract that is worth up to $172M with Las Vegas last week, which essentially is a one-year fully guaranteed deal with team options to extend past 2027.

The 15-year veteran understands that Mendoza is the future of the Raiders organization, but he is still looking to compete for the starting job next season.

“I don’t want to start unless I’m the best option, and I told Klint [Kubiak] that,” Cousins said on Good Morning Football. “The best player should play, but as long as that’s the case, I have no qualms with however it plays out.”

Cousins has experience with new Raiders head coach, Klint Kubiak, as the pair worked together in Minnesota for three seasons, where Kubiak served as the QB coach for two and offensive coordinator for one.

Despite looking to compete for the starting role, Cousins understands the role he plays as a veteran and voice in the QB room for a rookie.

“I do think Fernando is going to be a great addition to our team. I think he’s going to have a great future in the league,” Cousins said.

“I have no problem being a voice in the room to kinda help him to the degree that I can. He’s going to have great support all around him from the coaching staff. Being able to watch a veteran quarterback go through his habits, routines, and process can be a great asset for him.”

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Cousins has been a model veteran over his 14 seasons in the NFL and has been quite successful as a starter despite being drafted as a backup for Robert Griffin III.

This will be the third time in his career that Cousins will be a part of a quarterback room with a first-round rookie. The other time was two seasons ago with another former Hoosier, Michael Penix Jr., and the Atlanta Falcons.

Unlike with Penix Jr. and Griffin III, Cousins joins the Raiders knowing that they will be selecting Mendoza with their first overall pick.

The pair of future teammates spent time together recently during Mendoza’s predraft visit to Las Vegas. Mendoza, who has been previously compared to Cousins due to their quirky personalities, took no time to make a strong impression on the veteran.

“He had a great way about him. It was good to just watch some tape together and talk ball,” Cousins said. “There’ll be a lot of that up ahead for us, so we’ll be spending a lot of time together in meetings, practices, and games. We all kind of lean on each other in the quarterback room. It’s really got to be a working force together where we’re all helping each other.”

Cousins is looking to lead a “noisy” quarterback room where guys are constantly asking questions and are not afraid to give one another feedback. In his opinion, the best years of his career have come when the quarterback room has been a strong one.

He also emphasized how he wants to learn from Mendoza, especially when it comes to the back shoulder throws that became a staple of the Indiana offense in 2025.

“I was even telling him, how much success he had throwing back shoulders at IU, that I’d like to learn a little bit from him on how to throw a good back shoulder. It’ll be a noisy quarterback room. We’ll all be helping each other, and we’ll all be pulling in the same direction.”

While Cousins has not been shy about his desire to compete and start for the Raiders, his presence could prove to be just as valuable off the field, giving Mendoza a veteran blueprint as he begins his NFL career.

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