Recent updates have hinted that Las Vegas Raiders coaches could at least consider abandoning their plan of starting veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins over 2026 No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza sooner than some thought back at the beginning of May.
For a piece published on Friday, ESPN’s Ryan McFadden shared some interesting comments recently made by Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker that may show why Cousins will ultimately get the nod for Las Vegas’ Week 1 home game versus the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13.
Tre Tucker “very excited” to work with Kirk Cousins through the fall?
“[Cousins] knows the system, so like there’s things in the system that he’ll be like, ‘Hey, on this, this is what I’m looking at.’ So, then you go out there, and you’re on the same page,” Tucker explained. “He knows defense, he knows coverage, and all that. He’s one of the best in the game, for sure, and he has always been. I’m very excited to keep working with him.”
The Raiders’ mandatory minicamp is scheduled to begin on June 9, and it’s possible that those sessions will show whether or not first-year head coach Klint Kubiak is holding a legitimate competition for the starting job. Previous comments made by both Kubiak and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady could lead one to believe that Mendoza will have to show over the next several months that he undeniably is the best quarterback on the roster to open the season atop the depth chart.
Then again, the Raiders may sit Cousins through the preseason to keep him healthy for Week 1.
Tre Tucker now serving as a leader for Raiders offense
McFadden noted that Tucker, a 2023 third-round draft pick, has had four head coaches and seven offensive coordinators during his young NFL career. He has also caught passes from seven different starting quarterbacks, and that number could increase to at least nine before Week 18 of the 2026 campaign wraps up.
“Obviously, you don’t want to have multiple different offensive coordinators [because] you can’t play in the same system, but you can’t look at the negatives,” Tucker added during his comments. “The positives, I was able to learn different schemes, different terminology [and] just seeing different things. And I think that’s helped me now because a lot of things we’re doing, I mean, the NFL is the NFL, everybody runs the same plays, they just call it different, so you know the coaching points, and you get to learn more.”
Eventually, Tucker may be tasked with helping Mendoza prepare to make a first regular-season start as a pro QB1 this coming fall. For now, it sounds like Mendoza remains on track to find himself wearing a headset when the Raiders welcome the Dolphins to Allegiant Stadium in September.