After leading the Indiana Hoosiers to a national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy, Fernando Mendoza joined the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders as the No. 1 overall pick. However, with just a week left in the 2026 NFL regular season, the Raiders still haven’t formally announced him as their QB1. And now, general manager John Spytek shared a few cents on Mendoza’s output this offseason.

“[Mendoza] has shown us what we learned about him and the information we gathered on him in the pre-draft process,” Spytek told media on Tuesday. “He’s a tireless worker, he loves football, he loves his teammates, he’s energetic on the field, he’s self-critical, he’s self-aware, he’s very accurate.

“And so you know his time is coming, but he’s got to earn it every day and he knows that. But I think we’re all very pleased with the person and his work ethic and his commitment to being a great quarterback.”

John Spytek’s words indirectly confirmed a point that many have been sharing their thoughts about, which is Fernando Mendoza being the backup for the 2026 season, while newly signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins possibly donning the role of a starter.

“The Las Vegas Raiders have identified their Week 1 starter: Kirk Cousins. First-year coach Klint Kubiak is expected to name the veteran as their starting quarterback to begin the 2026 regular season,” as reported by CBS Sports.

The decision to make Cousins is based on several factors, a few of which coincide with Mendoza being an NFL rookie. As revealed by GM Spytek, the franchise is emphasizing that Mendoza must “earn” the job through natural progression rather than being rushed into game action with possible rookie flaws, like pocket drifting and footwork details.

On the other hand, Cousins comes in with 14 seasons of NFL experience and has over 40,000 passing yards and 290 touchdowns under his belt. On top of that, he also has a long-standing working relationship with Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak from their time together with the Minnesota Vikings (2019-2021).

So, the expectation is to let Cousins take the snaps of a rebuilding Las Vegas Raiders, who are coming off a 3-14 season, while Mendoza develops and acclimatizes himself to the NFL environment as QB2.

However, when it comes to getting that first NFL experience, Fernando Mendoza made appearances in all three preseason games against the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and San Francisco 49ers.

He completed 25-of-45 passes (55.6%) while throwing for 240 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins only came out to play against the Cardinals and 49ers, where in total he completed 13-of-19 passes for 101 yards (68.4%) and two TDs.

Statistically, one could argue that Mendoza has shown similar levels to Cousins, and that’s what also impressed Spytek & Co. But as it seems, Mendoza still has a lot of room for improvement before taking charge of the Raiders’ offense.