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Fernando Mendoza will face off against another NFL for the first time in the Raiders preseason opener Thursday against the Cardinals. Given the Raiders plan to start Kirk Cousins, the preseason may be the only time we see Mendoza throughout the season.
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The buzz around Mendoza has been tempered this offseason, partly by his own struggles, but also because the Raiders aren’t planning to use him early on. Any excitement around Mendoza will have to wait for later in the season or even into 2027.
But that leaves the preseason as the best time to test the rookie quarterback.
Who will Mendoza play with?
Klint Kubiak is planning to play his starters in the preseason. But he didn’t elaborate on how long they will be on the field. Even when asked directly if Mendoza will get any playing time with the starters, Kubiak was evasive.
“I just don’t want to talk about how we are going to play those guys,” Kubiak said.
Regardless of his head coach’s strange secrecy ahead of a preseason game, Mendoza should get playing time with the starters. The Raiders don’t want to play Mendoza at the beginning of his rookie season so he can develop into a better quarterback. The best way to develop him is to give him reps with the starters in games that don’t matter.
The Raiders haven’t done that in training camp. Mendoza has been relegated to snaps with just the second team with the exception of the one day Kirk Cousins was suspended after fighting Maxx Crosby.
It took two veterans getting punished by the head coach to get Mendoza any real looks with the best offensive players on the team. The Raiders should be taking more advantage of training camp reps to develop Mendoza, but they aren’t.
It would seem unlikely for the Raiders to give Mendoza snaps with the first-team offense in a preseason game if they are unwilling to do it in camp.
Malik Benson connection
The wide receiver creating the most buzz at training camp is Malik Benson. He could end up as a top-three wideout on the team in Week 1, though for now he is listed as a backup on the depth chart.
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Benson made one of the best catches of training camp on Monday.
Air it out #RaiderNationpic.twitter.com/3IFBpVnSni
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 11, 2026
Interestingly, when Kubiak was asked specifically about Mendoza and Benson’s connection, he gave a generic answer about all of the rookies on the team.
“The rookies are very close. They get way more meeting time than the vets do in the offseason.” Kubiak said to reporters. “Those guys get real close. We have a big rookie group. We need them to gel with each other and get close and that’s going to pay dividends on the field.”
Maybe Kubiak doesn’t see Benson as a critical piece of the team or Mendoza’s future. Or he might just be trying to hide more things, like he did when discussing playing time for Thursday’s game.
Handling snaps
Mendoza has repeatedly had struggles handling snaps in training camp. A fairly benign part of the offense, but one a quarterback should have mastered.
The Raiders are asking Mendoza to play more under center. Last year at Indiana, he took just two snaps under center all season. Meanwhile, Kubiak’s offense was excellent when using Sam Darnold under center in Seattle last season.
Las Vegas is also moving players around on the second offensive line unit. Jordan Meredith is listed as the backup center, but rookie Trey Zuhn has gotten plenty of looks there as well.
We’ll see how comfortable the Raiders are with Mendoza under center, and who is snapping him the ball on Thursday.
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This story was originally published August 12, 2026 at 3:10 AM.