The Raiders' Regular Season Schedule Sets Mendoza Up for Success

The Las Vegas Raiders' regular season schedule was released, which answered some questions, but brought many more. Las Vegas has had a productive offseason, making wide-ranging changes to both their coaching staff and their roster. The 2026 season is set to be another fascinating season.

Raiders' Plan for Fernando Mendoza

Both Raiders general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak publicly expressed their plans and hopes to start a veteran quarterback in Week 1. They then went out and signed a solid veteran quarterback with whom Kubiak is familiar, Kirk Cousins, confirming those plans.

Las Vegas plans to sit Mendoza for an unspecified amount of time, giving him more time to develop with little pressure to deliver immediately in his rookie season. Sitting Mendoza also allows the Raiders' offense to build more of a routine and connection before throwing Mendoza onto the field.

The addition of Cousins, the lack of any external expectations of making the playoffs, and an offense that is largely still in the infancy of being created are all enough reasons to take their time with Mendoza. Leaving the time frame for when he will start in the air was a wise move.

Doing so buys everyone more time to figure things out, while Mendoza is inevitably gaining as much knowledge and experience as possible in the meantime. However, while leaving the time frame of when he will start in the regular season unspecified, it opens the door to another possibility.

Raiders' Schedule

It may take time to get Mendoza on the field in the regular season, which is fair. However, taking a look at both the Raiders' preseason and regular season raises a question. With Mendoza set to start the regular season on the bench, the preseason should naturally be his time to get on the field.

The schedule should allow Mendoza to see plenty of time in the preseason, as two of the Raiders' regular-season games are against two of their three preseason opponents. The Raiders face the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers in the preseason and the regular season.

In addition to wanting to protect the starters, Las Vegas will likely not want to show much of its hand under a new offensive scheme, with many new coaches and players. The Raiders deciding to rest their starters or play them sparingly would be fair given the circumstances.

If that is the case, there is no reason Mendoza should see plenty of action in the preseason. The Raiders may not let him run the full playbook, but he should be on the field and be on the field often. If the plan is to sit him, there is little to lose and a lot to gain by playing him in the preseason.

The Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Mendoza, partially because of his ability to process information quickly. At the professional level, he will do most of that processing in the classroom and in practice against his own teammates until he becomes the starting quarterback later in the season.

The best teacher to help Mendoza's processing abilities develop even faster will be live action in the preseason, especially against the Cardinals and the 49ers. Las Vegas plays both later in the season, getting Mendoza in against those teams in the preseason would be a trial run.

Nearly every move the Raiders' front office has made this offseason has been understandable, including their decision to sign Cousins and bring Mendoza along gradually. There are different parts of any player's development plan.

Getting Mendoza as much preseason action as possible should be a part of the front office's plan for the No. 1 overall draft pick. Doing so could pay off with regular-season wins down the road, as the Raiders play the 49ers and Cardinals late in the season, when Mendoza is most likely to start.

Add us as a preferred source on Google