Raiders roster 2026: The case for keeping quarterback Aidan O’Connell
Entering Year 4, O’Connell has the game experience, ability to be a quality emergency backup behind Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 04: Aidan O'Connell #12 of the Las Vegas Raiders prepares for a play against the Kansas City Chiefs in the second quarter of the game at Allegiant Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 14-12. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images) | Getty Images Fernando Mendoza is the shiny new item in the toy box while grizzled veteran Kirk Cousins provides a familiar insurance policy of sorts in the quarterback room.
And the Las Vegas Raiders couldn’t be happier. It’s those two signal callers that’ll be one of the focal points of the Silver & Black’s offseason and we’ll get to see if general manager John Spytek did put new head coach Klint Kubiak in a position to succeed in the lead man’s inaugural year helming an NFL team. Mendoza, the highly touted (and debated) Indiana Hoosiers’ prospect was snagged by the Raiders with the No.
1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which occurred at the tail end of April. At the beginning of the month, though, Las Vegas inked Cousins in free agency in what’s essentially a one-year deal. Within one month, Spytek gave Kubiak a short-term and long-term solutions to a quarterback quandary which continuously plagued the team.
Raiders minority owner and seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady isn’t shy about his belief young signal callers should sit and learn by watching a veteran. And that’s what the Cousins-Mendoza dynamic presents itself in the desert. And who knows, perhaps an open competition leads to Mendoza being the starting quarterback Week 1?
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