Raiders' New Era: Fernando Mendoza Takes QB1 Role!

You mentioned the Raiders part of this. And Mendoza now, I assume, steps into QB1. He should step into QB1. Oh, boy. There are people like, oh, Aiden O'Connell. No. You're out of your mind. Mendoza is their guy. And people are like, well, you're going to throw him into the fire against Seattle and Mike McDonald? Yeah, that's the whole point of the trade. You want to see what the kid has. So what are your thoughts on the Raiders finally making that decision to go with Mendoza and go to... This new era that they're kind of hoping would kind of build around Mendoza as opposed to Kirk Cousins. Like I said, I feel like they really won the trade. And I think they really won the trade by a mile because now they can see what their future holds after establishing some character, after establishing how they want their program to look under Clint Kubiak. So for me. Mendoza playing, regardless of the outcome, is a positive because now you will see what he can and can't do as an organization, and you know where you can now spin that pick that you got from Minnesota to help him get better. Because I don't think this is a Cam Ward situation. I don't think the Raiders are going to be a revolving door that will eventually sink the quarterback that you took number one. I think the Raiders have a plan. I think they were willing to stick to that plan throughout the year. I think they were going to stick with their conviction. But this offer came up, and this offer was in their plans. They took it to now show that Mendoza sat for a reason. I expect for Fernando Mendoza to take the field and look exactly like Kirk Cousins did. That's why Kirk Cousins was such a great match and a pairing with Fernando Mendoza because their games are simpler. I've always said that. Mendoza was Kirk Cousins' 4.0. He's more athletic. He's got better legs. He's got a better arm. But remember, Kirk Cousins in his prime was nice. Kirk Cousins' rookie year was nice. And I expect Fernando Mendoza to really give the Raiders a reinvigorated fight as he takes the field, regardless of who it's against. Because Clay Kubiak's going to protect him. They're probably going to run the ball like 45 times in that game. I agree with you. I think at some point, the Raiders had to understand, okay, we're not making the playoffs. Now, if they would have been six and four right now or whatever, five and three or something like that, it changes a lot of things, but they just lost again. They've been losing more and more. Obviously, they started three and oh, and now they're four and six at this point. So they kind of made that move, and I agree with it. Listen, they had him sit under a guy that, It's kind of the prototype for they want Mendoza to be. Obviously, they want him to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but they want him to kind of mold into that smart Kirk Cousins that we've seen. So I think it's a perfect time. Let him go the rest of the season, see what you have, and then kind of go from there. But you had to see it at some point, and they just made the decision now. I think you're right. I think they might have won that trade.