Kirk Cousins says best QB should start if Raiders draft Fernando Mendoza

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Kirk Cousins was blindsided when Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall in 2024 — just a month after he signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons.

He comes to Las Vegas with a firmer sense of his role, and if Fernando Mendoza is selected by the Raiders with the No. 1 overall pick and beats out Cousins for the starting quarterback job, then so be it.

“We all want to play,” Cousins said Wednesday at his introductory news conference. “I made this clear to (coach) Klint (Kubiak) that the best player needs to play. 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 the best option, I think it's important those guys are out there.”

The Raiders signed Cousins to a deal in which $20 million is guaranteed. Las Vegas is on the hook for $1.3 million this year and $10 million next March when the new league year begins.

The Falcons will pick up the remaining $8.7 million for this season. The Raiders also have a two-year, $80 million option.

“I really want to finish my career strong," said Cousins, who turns 38 shortly before next season. "I got an opportunity to do that here in Vegas and want to make the most of it.”

Part of that might be mentoring Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to the national championship.

The Raiders, who sent representatives to the title game and Mendoza's pro day on April 1, are expected to use the first pick in the NFL draft to take him.

Kubiak and general manager John Spytek have said before signing Cousins that they would prefer a rookie quarterback not start right away. Thus the reason for signing the veteran.

Cousins got the chance to meet Mendoza on Tuesday when he was in the Raiders' facility for his pre-draft visit.

“He seems like a high-caliber person," Cousins said. "If we’re fortunate enough to get him here, it will be a privilege to work together. The rookie year is always at the forefront of my memory. It was a lot of change, a lot of adjustments. At that time, I was a fourth-round pick, a very different experience from being a high pick.”

After the way his tenure ended in Atlanta, Cousins said he was reinvigorated getting off the plane in Las Vegas and arriving at a facility in which he talked about being able to see the mountains from the meeting rooms.

Despite the surprise draft-night selection of Penix in 2024, Cousins ended his two years with the Falcons on a high note by winning his final four starts.

Now he wants to build on that.

“There’s a joy and excitement being here," Cousins said. "Partly, probably it has to do with the tradition of this organization, especially getting to put on this logo, one of the coolest logos in professional sports. It’s a real privilege to be here.”

He also talked about the value of joining an organization in which Tom Brady is a minority owner and has significant input into how the franchise operates.

“Not a lot of ownership groups would have someone with that kind of on-field experience that can talk with you at the level he can," Cousins said. "I'd like to think that could be a competitive advantage up ahead. It's a privilege to have access to someone like that.”