Fernando Mendoza showed flashes during the Las Vegas Raiders‘ mandatory minicamp, connecting on a touchdown pass to Malik Benson and later hitting Dont’e Thornton on a 25-yarder while working with the third-team offense. That backed up his own belief that he’s improving every day since the start of OTAs. However, when Klint Kubiak was asked about Mendoza’s assessment, the head coach delivered a sharp reality check for Mendoza.

“You better be getting better every day in this league, or you’re gonna get passed up. I hope that would be his answer, and we’ll find out if he was right or not come the fall,” Kubiak said, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden.

This is a clear sign that the Raiders aren’t going to hand over the keys to Mendoza to start Week 1 of the 2026 season. He needs to earn it while learning behind veteran quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Aidan O’Connell. And Kubiak’s comments surfaced shortly after, Mendoza gave his own assessment.

“I think there’s always a transition, especially from the college level to the NFL level, and it’s having those positive stressors, and that growing period,” the quarterback said. “There are going to be some growing pains. Luckily, I feel confident that I’m able to see the field well. My growing pains are coming from, ‘Hey, I’ve got to time up my footwork a little bit with the routes,’ and intricacies here and there.

“I’m really working hard with the coaching staff, who are pushing me, and have done a phenomenal job of relaying and communicating the information needed. It’s up to me take full advantage of that. I feel like I’ve been growing every day, from the first day of OTAs, then today at minicamp. I feel like I’m leaps and bounds ahead of where I was.”

It’s not hard to understand why Mendoza believes that he’s growing, and Kubiak noted that the quarterback will need to get better every day. Right after the Raiders picked him with the first overall, Mendoza admitted that he needs to improve ahead of his rookie season. And looking back at his collegiate career, it’s hard to say that Mendoza is perfect despite being a national champion.

To put that in perspective, Mendoza operated in an RPO-heavy system at Cal and Indiana throughout his collegiate career, while working from the shotgun formation. Kubiak’s system in the NFL, however, is quite different.

The head coach comes from the Shanahan-Kubiak tree and emphasizes West Coast principles, a wide-zone run scheme, and heavy play-action. We’ve seen this script before when Kubiak was the Seattle Seahawks‘ offensive coordinator during the team’s Super Bowl run.

This is why Mendoza is learning behind Cousins before eventually getting the QB1 job, considering Cousins and Kubiak worked together in Minnesota. On top of that, Cousins is also coming after an impressive performance with the Atlanta Falcons in the second half of the 2025 season, something that the head coach recently acknowledged.

“If you watched Kirk play his last four games in Atlanta, you saw what he could do. He’s getting healthier. He’s played really good football for us this time of year, and we’re counting on him come the season,” Kubaik said.

That said, Mendoza is expected to start in his rookie season, but a Week 1 possibility is highly unlikely, with Cousins expected to earn the QB1 nod. At the same time, the Raiders have yet to officially lock in Mendoza after drafting him first overall. Per reports, Mendoza is one of only two first-round picks who have yet to sign his rookie contract, with the other being Ty Simpson.

As the first overall pick, Mendoza will sign a four-year, fully guaranteed, $57.27 million deal with an average annual salary of $14.13 million. The reason the Raiders haven’t signed him yet is expected to be a $38.11 million worth of signing bonus. Normally, the NFL teams give the top round picks their signing bonus upfront. The Raiders, meanwhile, don’t usually do that.

Their recent first-round picks have been paid in installments. And the way things are shaping up, Fernando Mendoza is expected to join that list as well ahead of his rookie season. That said, Fernando Mendoza’s rookie contract and how his season would unfold currently remain to be seen.