Kirk Cousins on Raiders' QB room if Fernando Mendoza is added: 'We'll all be helping each other'

AFC EastBillsDolphinsJetsPatriotsAFC NorthBengalsBrownsRavensSteelersAFC SouthColtsJaguarsTexansTitansAFC WestBroncosChargersChiefsRaidersNFC EastCommandersCowboysEaglesGiantsNFC NorthBearsLionsPackersVikingsNFC SouthBuccaneersFalconsPanthersSaintsNFC West49ersCardinalsRamsSeahawksScores & ScheduleStandingsFantasyNFL OddsNFL PicksNFL DraftPodcastsScoop City NewsletterThe BeastTop 100 Rankings3-Round Mock DraftNFL Draft OrderFree Agency Tracker2026 NFL Draft In an interview, Kirk Cousins revealed that he and Fernando Mendoza had an opportunity to watch some film together recently in Las Vegas. Todd Kirkland / Getty Images Share full articleFilm sessions between Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins and future Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the expected No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, are already underway. In an interview on “Good Morning Football,” Cousins shared that Mendoza was in Las Vegas this week for his pre-draft visit and the two quarterbacks had an opportunity to watch some film together. “He had a great way about him,” Cousins said. “It was good to just watch some tape together and talk ball. There will be a lot of that up ahead for us, so we’ll be spending a lot of time together — meetings, practices, 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. It ought to be a noisy room, where we’re all asking questions, all giving each other feedback on what we think. Those are the years when I’ve had my best years, when the quarterback room has been a really strong room with great dialogue all year long.” Cousins was complimentary of Mendoza, and said he even asked Mendoza for some tips on throwing to the back shoulder. Cousins also spoke highly of the overall environment that the former Indiana quarterback will walk into in the NFL in Las Vegas. “Fernando will be a great addition to our team,” Cousins said. “… He’s going to have a great future in the league. I have no problem being a voice in the room to kind of help him, to the degree that I can. He’s going to have great support all around him from the coaching staff, but to the degree that being able to watch a veteran quarterback go through his habits and routines and process, I think that can be a great asset for him … It’ll be a noisy quarterback room. We’ll all be helping each other and we’ll all be pulling in the same direction.” Cousins said he feels he still has some “unfinished business on the field,” saying his goals include winning division titles and playoff games and being “the one holding up the Lombardi at the end of the season.” Before any of those goals can be reached, Cousins will have to earn the role as the starting quarterback, which is something he said he’s looking forward to. “I don’t want to start, unless I’m the best option,” Cousins said. “I told Klint (Kubiak) that. Best player should play. As long as that’s the case, I have no qualms with however it plays out.” The Raiders present an intriguing opportunity for Cousins to start again. The organization hired Kubiak as its new head coach after he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in February as offensive coordinator. Cousins has some history with Kubiak, with the coach serving as the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020, Cousins’ second and third years in Minnesota. In 2021, Kubiak was named Minnesota’s offensive coordinator. That season marks the only year of Cousins’ career in which he threw for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while also throwing fewer than 10 interceptions. “I probably, objectively, had my best season in 2021 when Klint was calling plays,” Cousins said. “I think a large part of that was that he was in the quarterback room for two years prior to that. From his first day calling plays, he knew how I thought, how I felt about certain plays, what I was good with, what I wasn’t good with, and I think that helped us be on the same page from the jump. “I think Klint’s offense has a great identity to it. I think you saw that in Seattle this year, with the way they married the run and the pass, the way the play-action game and the bootleg game is fit into the system. There’s a great identity there. I think it’s an offense that makes sense, and it’s a big reason why I wanted to be here.” Another thing that nudged Cousins to the Raiders was the perspective he got from Tom Brady, the Raiders’ minority owner. Cousins said that Brady called him via FaceTime and talked about Brady’s vision for the organization and whether Cousins would be a good fit. “I got off the call, and I called my wife and said, ‘That was a really life-giving call with Tom,’ ” Cousins said. “He gets it. He’s been where I’ve been, and then some. He understands what it needs to look like, what it will look like, and I felt a shot in the arm after talking to him. I felt like that was a big nudge for me to come to Vegas.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Saad Yousuf is a staff writer covering the NFL. He previously covered the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Stars at The Athletic. Saad also works at 96.7/1310 The Ticket in Dallas after five years at ESPN Dallas radio. Prior to The Athletic, Saad covered the Cowboys, Mavericks and a variety of other sports at The Dallas Morning News. Follow Saad on Twitter @SaadYousuf126