{"id":848703,"date":"2026-04-02T06:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848703\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T06:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:18:21","slug":"las-vegas-raiders-have-another-veteran-quarterback-in-mind-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848703\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Raiders have another veteran quarterback in mind for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL<\/a> has officially turned its attention to the 2026 NFL Draft. The annual league meetings concluded Tuesday, and teams are now finalizing their draft boards.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean teams have moved on from free agency. The Las Vegas Raiders were very active in the opening stages \u2014 and they aren\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n

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MORE: Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Indiana Pro Day updates, highlights before 2026 NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

The Raiders are expected to draft Fernando Mendoza; however, they have also explored the veteran market. After missing out on Joe Flacco, reports<\/a> indicate they have shifted their attention elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"\"Reunion for Kubiak?<\/p>\n

Veteran free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins has emerged as a leading candidate for the Silver and Black, according to reports. The Atlanta Falcons released Cousins in early March, and he has taken his time evaluating his next move.<\/p>\n

The Falcons surprised Cousins when they selected Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, shortly after Cousins had signed a massive long-term contract.<\/p>\n

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In this scenario, Cousins would face very different expectations. He is no longer expected to serve as the long-term face of a franchise, but he could provide valuable mentorship for Mendoza.<\/p>\n

MORE: Wild Aaron Rodgers rumor has NFL reporters in a source battle<\/a><\/p>\n

A key connection in this situation is Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, who served as Cousins\u2019 offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2019 to 2021.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cousins enjoyed significant success under Kubiak, earning two Pro Bowl selections during that span. He could provide the veteran leadership Kubiak values \u2014 and perhaps even revive his career once again.<\/p>\n

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Kubiak also served as the offensive architect in Seattle when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year, helping Sam Darnold complete a career resurgence.<\/p>\n

Can Kubiak help resurrect Cousins\u2019 career while Mendoza develops?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL has officially turned its attention to the 2026 NFL Draft. The annual league meetings concluded Tuesday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4955,1586,223,254,3619,7,629,562,294,8357,393,55,6,15,116230,1878,238,237,3081],"class_list":{"0":"post-848703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-aaron-rodgers","10":"tag-atlanta","11":"tag-atlanta-falcons","12":"tag-fernando-mendoza","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-georgia","15":"tag-joe-flacco","16":"tag-kirk-cousins","17":"tag-klint-kubiak","18":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","19":"tag-new-orleans-saints","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-nfl-draft","22":"tag-nfl-reporters","23":"tag-sam-darnold","24":"tag-seahawks","25":"tag-seattle","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116333662347889019","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}