Florio said<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cHow many times do you keep a first-round quarterback under wraps and force him to win the job, creating a scenario where he has to earn it? I feel like, at times, they\u2019re serious about going with Kirk Cousins. So why did you use the first overall pick on Fernando Mendoza if you\u2019re serious about going with Kirk Cousins?\u201c<\/p>\n
Florio contined on, ripping into the Raiders even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t the Chiefs of 2017, who had the luxury of a playoff team and could put Patrick Mahomes on ice. If you\u2019ve got a team that needs to be turned around and you have a guy you think can come in and turn it around , why are we waiting? What are we waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Florio continued his assessment by questioning the value of keeping Mendoza inactive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the point of waiting?\u201d Florio added. \u201cGet the guy out on the field. Get him to the point where the game slows down [and] to the point where he starts to understand what he\u2019s doing [and] get him better this year so you can be a contender next year. That\u2019s what confuses me about this plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters of the Raiders\u2019 plan argue that protecting the rookie from early struggles could preserve his confidence. Critics counter that true progress occurs only through live competition.<\/p>\n
Mendoza arrived in the league after an outstanding senior season at Indiana. He participated in 724 snaps and earned an 87.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n
He completed passes for 2,758 yards and 32 touchdowns with just five interceptions. The quarterback also registered 16 big-time throws against nine turnover-worthy plays.<\/p>\n
On designed runs and scrambles, Mendoza gained 200 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns. Those contributions helped him claim the Heisman Trophy and guided the Hoosiers to a national championship.<\/p>\n
NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms offered a contrasting view, acknowledging the merits of the Raiders\u2019 cautious strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m with you in the fact that I\u2019m always for the player, the quarterback especially, playing,\u201d Simms said. \u201cGet them out there, get the reps. There\u2019s nothing that can prepare you more than actual game reps, fans yelling, and people trying to actually rip your head off when you\u2019re in the pocket trying to throw the football.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right about that. But they make the investment because it\u2019s not about right now. It\u2019s about the next 15 years and Kirk Cousins is a damn good quarterback. He\u2019s had a hell of a career. Some of these offensive geniuses value him maybe more than people like you or me or fans of the game. Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O\u2019Connell. They all value what he can do and how much offense he can take on, and how he processes all of that is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
The debate underscores the tension between short-term results and long-term roster building. Cousins brings proven reliability, while Mendoza represents the potential cornerstone of the franchise for years ahead.<\/p>\n
Whether the gradual transition accelerates Mendoza\u2019s growth or delays the team\u2019s rebound remains an open question as camp proceeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Las Vegas Raiders have settled on veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins as their starter when training camp opens,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,2455,2454,6,525],"class_list":["post-959308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-las-vegas-raiders","tag-football","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-lasvegas","tag-lasvegasraiders","tag-nfl","tag-raiders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117007606300252237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959308","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=959308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}