The Las Vegas Raiders believed that they secured their savior by drafting former Indiana standout Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick. ESPN’s Eric Karabell echoed that optimism, claiming that the Raiders “upgraded” their QB room with Mendoza. However, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly had a different opinion. 

“Fernando Mendoza is a guaranteed bust,” Kelly replied to a Sleeper Raiders’ X post highlighting Karabell’s point on the rookie QB. 

The Athletic’s Sam Warren previously noted that Mendoza spent most of his time during the OTAs with the rookies. Cousins took first reps while the rookie took the last one. On top of that, on the last day of practice, Warren noted Mendoza’s dip in accuracy and claimed that he didn’t fare well against the first-team defense. 

“He’s still [learning] what to do, making sure he knows his job, and then we can start to take some of the next steps, but it’s a long road [and] a lot of work to do,” QB coach Mie Sullivan said, backing the young quarterback up. “We’re pleased with the work that he’s been putting in to this point.” 

Having led the Indiana Hoosiers to a CFP National Championship, Mendoza is entering his rookie year with many expectations on his shoulders. He is tabbed as the future franchise quarterback for the Raiders, who have long struggled at this position. However, the rookie will not have the keys handed over just yet.

This offseason, veteran QB Kirk Cousins was the more dominant quarterback in the competition, which is still ongoing. He is expected to hold the fort down as QB1 this season, with Mendoza likely taking over next year. However, if Cousins delivers an exceptional performance as the starter, it might start to look bad for the rookie.

Also, Mendoza hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet. Along with Los Angeles Rams’ Ty Simpson, they are the only two first-round picks from this year’s draft who are without their contracts.

Per insider Q Myers, the holdup is related to the payment structure around his signing bonus. In recent years, the franchise paid rookies 77.5% of the amount within the first 15 days of signing a contract. The rest of the money followed later. That would mean Mendoza is to receive $29.563 million in his first installment.

Myers added that this situation isn’t something to get “concerned about,” and that he expected it to be resolved before training camp begins.

“You get what you can out of this time of year, and then the real evaluation comes with those 11 practices before we play that first preseason game,” head coach Klint Kubiak said.