Rich Weighs In on the Raiders’ Mendoza vs Cousins QB Competition

Rich's take: this is a real competition, and the Raiders are going to be better than the Vikings.

That was Rich's verdict after playing back media-day soundbites from the Las Vegas Raiders' quarterback room, where rookie Fernando Mendoza and veteran Kirk Cousins are in the mix for the starting job. Don't let the warm-and-fuzzy tone of the players fool you, Rich said. Someone is going to win the gig, and someone is going to lose it.

Mendoza set the tone with an answer so gracious it nearly disarmed the room. The rookie described a quarterback group still learning together, leaning on Cousins, Aidan O'Connell, and fellow first-year passer Jacob Clark, an undrafted free agent.

"I feel like we're all in different stages," Mendoza said. "Kirk being more of veteran, Aidan being in his fourth year... and then me being in my first year." He credited coaches Jenoco, Sullivan, and Kubiak, calling the experience "an overload of information" he's trying to apply on the field. The vibe was so cozy that one voice on the show joked you "just want to hug him after every answer."

Cousins, the OG of the room, waved off the idea that he's there to play mentor.

"I think to say I'm mentoring them is a bit of a reach, probably more of a narrative than it is the truth," Cousins said. "They're pretty good players and pretty experienced and I'm learning a lot from them, too." He described the room as "a working force together," everyone giving feedback and another set of eyes rather than working in silos.

Rich heard exactly what was under that humility. Cousins isn't pushing back on the mentor label to be modest, Rich said, "he's not there to mentor, he's there to start games and win games for the Las Vegas Raiders. That's what he's there for. So there will be a competition." A competitor like Mendoza, all the puppy-dog talk aside, "is going to want that gig."

The framing turned into a Raiders-vs-Vikings temperature check, with Rich noting the Vegas room sounded healthier than the one in Minnesota. Then he delivered the take that melted the thermometer.

"The Raiders are going to have a better season than the Vikings," Rich said. "That is hot."

He also took a beat to mark how far the room has come. The Raiders quarterback room "used to be hungover and tired and smoking cigs," Rich said. Now these guys are "probably watching puppy dog piles in their spare time."