The Las Vegas Raiders were the surprise of the early season, posting a 3-0 record.
Since beating the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 27, the Raiders have dropped four straight games, including a 35-21 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at home on Sunday.
The initial plan for the Raiders was to start Kirk Cousins at quarterback for the entire season, with No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza learning behind the veteran before getting an opportunity to start in 2027.
During his postgame news conference, first-year head coach Klint Kubiak was asked if he’d consider speeding up the timeline for Mendoza to start if the Raiders want to plan for their future.
Kubiak suggested the Raiders would consider making a change at quarterback in the near future as everything was on the table after a fourth straight loss.
“I think we have to go watch the film,” Kubiak said. “I think at this point… we’re thinking about everything, how to fix our problems, how to fix our issues in the in the red zone in the third quarter, and personnel scheme. We got to talk about all of it.”
Cousins finished Sunday’s game going 26 of 44 passing for 295 yards and two touchdowns. Before the game, he had 1,582 yards passing, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Mendoza received brief playing time in the Raiders’ 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 5. He went 6 of 8 passing for 48 yards.
The decision won’t be easy for the Raiders or Kubiak. The Raiders are still in playoff contention. Their first three wins came against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, and New Orleans Saints, who have a combined three wins on the season. Las Vegas lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills by a combined six points.
The Raiders are competitive with Cousins. It remains to be seen how competitive they’d be with a rookie quarterback.
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