Raiders coach Klint Kubiak favors veteran QB, hesitant to start rookie early in season

Las Vegas whitethorn beryllium Fernando Mendoza’s archetypal NFL stop. But if helium joins the Raiders arsenic a rookie, his jersey whitethorn enactment cleanable aboriginal if manager Klint Kubiak has his way.

Mendoza led Indiana to its archetypal College Football Playoff nationalist rubric successful January and is wide projected arsenic the No. 1 wide prime successful April’s NFL Draft, a enactment held by the Raiders. 

Klint Kubiak was named the Raiders caput manager successful February, soon aft helping to pb the Seattle Seahawks to the franchise's 2nd Super Bowl rubric arsenic violative coordinator.

Kubiak believes rookie quarterbacks payment from learning from an experienced subordinate earlier seeing crippled action.

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Las Vegas Raiders manager Klint Kubiak speaks astatine an introductory quality league astatine Intermountain Health Performance Center connected Feb. 10, 2026, successful Henderson, Nev.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

"Ideally, you don't privation him to commencement from Day 1," Kubiak told reporters Tuesday. "You'd emotion him to beryllium capable to larn down somebody. That's successful a cleanable world. It doesn't ever enactment retired that way. Sometimes they person to play from Day 1, and it's our occupation arsenic coaches to get them acceptable to go. I deliberation it does assistance the subordinate if they tin beryllium down a mature big and ticker however they tally the show."

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Aidan O'Connell is the lone different backmost connected the Raiders's roster aft the squad traded Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett signed with the Panthers. Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson are among the veterans who stay unsigned.

The Raiders’ playoff triumph drought dates to the 2002 season, erstwhile the franchise won the AFC championship. 

Kubiak pointed to Fernando Mendoza’s way grounds erstwhile asked astir the quarterback. 

"He's a nationalist champion. He's a winner," Kubiak said of Mendoza. "He's quick. He's intelligent."

Indiana backmost Fernando Mendoza passes against Miami during the archetypal fractional of the College Football Playoff nationalist title crippled Jan. 19, 2026, successful Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

On defense, the Raiders inactive person five-time Pro Bowl borderline rusher Maxx Crosby aft his commercialized to Baltimore was voided due to the fact that helium failed a physical.

Seattle Seahawks violative coordinator Klint Kubiak speaks to the media up of the Super Bowl astatine the San Jose Convention Center Feb. 5, 2026, successful San Jose, Calif. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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Kubiak said helium smiled erstwhile wide manager John Spytek gave him the quality astir the nixed deal. 

"We got Maxx back. Are you kidding me? That's great. Our squad conscionable got better," Kubiak said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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