Fifteen-year NFL veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins approached free agency with an open mind after being released by the Atlanta Falcons last month.

He set few if any strict guidelines on which franchise he would make the fifth stop in his professional career, though he did share one important conviction with new Raiders coach Klint Kubiak as Las Vegas pursued him.

“We all want to play, but I made this clear to Klint: The best player needs to play,” Cousins said Wednesday. “If that’s not me, I don’t want to be out there. I don’t think that’s the best thing for the team. If I’m not the best, then I believe it’s important that those guys are out there.”

Kubiak saw things similarly heading into his first year on the job, and Cousins agreed to terms with the Raiders last week before showing up at the team’s Henderson headquarters for the start of offseason workouts Monday.    

He spoke Wednesday for the first time with his new team.

Don’t be surprised if and when Kubiak ultimately deems Cousins the best option and makes the longtime Vikings and Commanders passer the 10th starting quarterback since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas.

That may sound like a reach considering the Raiders are a lock to take Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, fresh of a national championship at Indiana, first overall overall April 23 at the NFL Draft.

But all indications are that Las Vegas will be in no rush to get Mendoza on the field.

“I think ideally you don’t want to start him from Day 1,” Kubiak said less than two weeks ago at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix. “You’d love to be able to learn behind somebody.”

That echoes comments made at the NFL combine in March by Raiders general manager John Spytek, who said he’s “not necessarily in favor of running him right out there right away either.”  

Raiders minority owner/de facto director of football operations Tom Brady has also countless times over the years espoused the benefits of a young quarterback waiting to play.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner has credited sitting in his rookie season in New England as a reason for his unparalleled success, as he learned how to be a professional under then-coach Bill Belichick without any added pressure.

The philosophy has mostly fallen out of favor in the modern NFL, with the past six No. 1 overall quarterbacks selected starting in Week 1. But Mendoza sure looks to be in line to be the first top pick since Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 to not be at the top of the depth chart to start his career.

“I’ve watched him from a distance,” Cousins said of Mendoza. “He had an incredible college career. I got to run into him yesterday on his draft visit. He seems like a high-caliber person and, if we’re fortunate enough to get him here, it will be a privilege to work with him.”

Mendoza is probably set to serve as Cousins’ understudy, but it’s no guarantee. He could upend the Raiders’ plans if he immediately looks like a superstar in offseason team activities and this summer’s training camp.  

That just doesn’t project as all that likely, given that the vast majority of rookie quarterbacks struggle with their initial transition to the NFL. Mendoza also has a couple more hurdles to clear than some of his highly touted predecessors.

He hardly took any snaps under center during his college career and ran a scheme heavy on run-pass option. Kubiak’s offense figures to have a lot of the former and not much of the latter.

That’s why Cousins makes so much sense after playing under Kubiak during the coach’s one-year stint as offensive coordinator with the Vikings in 2021.

“I wanted it to be plug and play but as all great offenses do, it evolves,” Cousins said.

“So are the guts of (the offense) the same? Yes, but are there a lot of things that have adapted in (five) years? Yes. That’s what good coaches do — they evolve.”

It’s also what good players do, and something Cousins will need to show to hold off Mendoza and the other member of the quarterback room, Aidan O’Connell, to claim the starting spot that looks reserved for him.

The 37-year-old statistically had the worst, or second-worst, season of his career in 2025 coming off a shoulder injury. But he said he felt better as the schedule progressed and rediscovered his joy for the game down the stretch.

It’s a mindset he says has been constant ever since the plane touched down in Las Vegas to finalize his newest deal. Whether he’s playing in front of Mendoza or helping the rookie from the sidelines, Cousins said he will make sure to enjoy what he referred to as “the back end of my career.”

Bet on it being the former, at least to start the season.

“I didn’t win a national championship or Heisman Trophy,” Cousins joked when asked about comparisons of himself to Mendoza as a quarterback. “I sure would have loved to have that. I think at this stage, he’s much ahead of me. But if you’re talking about playing with timing, playing with accuracy, wanting to understand things, have a good vision of the field, good feel for the position, those are traits I’ve tried to pride myself on.”