Raiders' Friday Injury Report Filled With Positives Entering Seahawks Matchup

The Las Vegas Raiders are good to go on the injury front. They hope it will lead to positive results against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.

Raiders | Darrell Craig Harris, ON SI

The Las Vegas Raiders have completed their first full week of practice with a new quarterback. Las Vegas selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft but has largely kept their shiny new quarterback under wraps this season.

Few know what to expect from Mendoza, as few outside the organization have seen Mendoza play football since the preseason. This will make their Week 10 slate against the Seattle Seahawks even more interesting than it already is, with the many ties between the two teams.

Sunday will be another example of the Raiders working through one of the league's toughest schedules. However, they have made it through half of that schedule with more wins than they had all of last season. A productive second half of the season could potentially spell a playoff berth.

Sunday's Major Meaning

The Raiders will return to Allegiant Stadium on Sunday for the first time in three weeks. It will be only their second home game in the past six weeks. It will also be Mendoza's first career start, which automatically makes it one of the most critical days in recent memory for the franchise.

Las Vegas has longed for a quality quarterback to stabilize the starting position. Mendoza will be the ninth quarterback the Raiders have started since the 2023 season. The Raiders have had no shortage of issue over that span, from general managers, coaches, and players.

However, the quarterback will always be the most important position on any football field, and the Raiders have not had a competent one until this season. More specifically, the Raiders have not had a quarterback who can play competent football with the roster he joined in Las Vegas.

Raiders | Darrell Craig Harris, ON SI

The Raiders' front office started the process of fixing both issues. They drafted Mendoza and have begun revamping arguably the league's worst roster over the past three seasons. The roster will require further work, but Mendoza steps into a better situation than the previous seven quarterbacks.

Fully turning the roster around will take another few seasons, but Mendoza's development on the field is primed to begin. It will not be easy; there will be some hiccups and some ugly plays. Mendoza hasn't played in a full professional game yet; trouble will come sooner or later.

Still, Mendoza's inevitable growing pains will be more valuable to him and the organization in the long run than him sitting on the bench for half or more of his rookie season. The time has come for Mendoza to take the reins.

Mendoza possesses a blend of attributes that none of the past few quarterbacks Las Vegas has started have. That could be enough to swing Sunday's matchup against the Seahawks. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak explained how the rookie's skill set can help the team.

“He brings his own unique things, and yes, he’s a young man with some juice in his legs, and he’s got a lot of talent. But in this game on Sunday, it’s going to be about way more than his physical talent,” Kubiak said. 

“It’s going to be about his leadership, his knowledge of the offense, his ability to read defense, and again, I’ll say it, it’s his reliance on his teammates and everybody around him elevating their level of play. We’re not putting it all on him.”

Friday's Injury Report

Las Vegas' injury report was light this week. Thomas Booker, Trey Zuhn, and Foley Fatukasi participated in a limited fashion on Wednesday. Booker and Zuhn also participated on a limited basis on Thursday.

Zuhn, Booker, Fatukasi, and Thomas all fully participated in practice on Friday. Dont'e Thornton was added to the list on Friday, as he missed Friday's practice. He and Booker are questionable for Sunday's matchup.

Assuming most of the four players listed on the injury report this week play on Sunday, Las Vegas is at its healthiest all season. This is good news ahead of Mendoza's first career start. Time will tell what the Raiders will be like with Mendoza under center.

However, it seems impossible that they will not be better off than the team that won seven combined games over the past two seasons, while suffering 10-game losing streaks in each of those seasons. Mendoza's time begins now.