The Raiders just got some GREAT news...

The Raiders just got some genuinely great news. Every single player on the active roster was at practice today. And with week 10 of the NFL season around the corner for the Raiders, Sam Warren called this, quote, remarkably healthy. And this, of course, being two days after trading their starting quarterback. And the only player listed as questionable who will still apparently play on Sunday is a guy wearing a red no contact jersey. And he was knocked out of the game. Last Sunday, Trey Zune is in concussion protocol and Clint Kubiak says that he is expected to play right guard if he does get cleared. And so starts a new era of Raiders football with Fernando Mendoza taking the helm for his first NFL start this Sunday against Seattle. The first quarterback in history, by the way, to make his NFL debut against defending Super Bowl champions and a full roster. But the biggest question going into this game is, does all of that juice back into the team give them enough to propel them to a victory with a defense that gives up 30 or more points a game? So let's get into the updates. On Wednesday, Zune was back on the field, limited in a red no-contact jersey. However, today he was limited again, the second day in a row, but is nearing a return. What happened was on Sunday night against San Francisco, he had officially been ruled out of the game with a concussion. He played 30 snaps there before he went out and a week after playing all 63 snaps in the win against the Jets. Now, of course, concussions are nothing to play with, and I think everyone should take them pretty seriously. And let's not rush the guy back from a serious injury like that. But the NFL's protocol has five phases and the final call isn't only the teams. It's an independent neurological specialist that has to sign off. On him returning to the lineup as well. Although Clint Kubiak was very clear. When asked about what his status is. Heading into Sunday. He said hey if he's cleared. He is starting. And he is going to be playing right guard. And that matters. Because the man behind him. Is again a rookie. Who's taken the helm for the first time. As a starter. And people are already trading on this game. Because there are so many stakes. So many implications for the team. Moving forward with this game. The Raiders were in the high 30% on Kalshi to win this game, but now they've dropped to 28% after the Kirk Cousins trade with Seattle being traded on at 72%. And guys, that is on Kalshi, the sponsor of today's video. Kalshi is the US's largest prediction market where you can trade yes or no on certain outcomes for sports, music, entertainment, and even the weather. And right now, if you believe in Fernando Mendoza and the rest of this healthy Raiders squad, $25 traded on the Raiders right now returns up to $85 for this game coming up on Sunday. And guys, again, this video is brought to you by Kalshi. And if you want to try out Kalshi yourself, use the link in the description or the pinned comment and use the promo code DIGESTNFL as new users will get $55 instantly added to their account when they trade their first 25. Again, the links are in the description. Thank you very much to Kalshi. for partnering with the channel and helping to support the channel so I can bring you guys daily updates on everything that's happening with the Raiders. But let's get back into the updates from practice. Now we pretty much heard from everyone else today, including the offensive coordinator who said he knew exactly what the room wanted when he stepped up to the podium. He opened his media availability this afternoon with I can't imagine what you guys want to talk Obviously, new quarterback taking over. Then he actually got pretty serious and sentimental about what Kirk Cousins is leaving behind. He said football is more than transactional and that it's all about relationships. They even figured out that they actually threw at the same Nike camp back in 2006. And on what Cousins leaves behind, he said, you can't put draft picks or a price tag on what he left. Although we did literally put a price tag on it. It was a third round pick in 2027. But I know what he's saying. The influence that he left on the team and this new young quarterback coming in to take the mantle can't even be described. And before we dive into the plan for Mendoza going forward, what's happening with the offense and many more updates from practice. If you guys are enjoying the daily updates on the Raiders, make sure to go down below and hit that free subscribe button. I'm going to bring you guys daily updates on everything that's happening with the Raiders from post-game reactions to injury updates to practice updates to, of course, trades. Well, those might wait till the offseason at this point, but we just reached 4,000 subscribers and we're well on our way to our goal of 5,000. Thank you so much for the support here on the channel, guys. I really do appreciate it. I'm going to try my best to bring you guys down daily updates on everything that's happening with the Raiders. One of the best Cousins stories, since everyone's reminiscing about him too, came from Max Crosby this week, where he was talking about training camp and a fight that ended up all over ESPN. He said that they were laughing in the locker room about it afterwards, nobody threw a punch, and Cousins was just mad because Crosby hit him. In Crosby's words, he called him the ultimate professional, which is something that you hear from everyone that he's played with, that has coached him, and that he loves Kirk Cousins till the day that he's off this planet. And Fernando Mendoza is already getting comparisons to him. Trey Tucker says that how Kirk is now is exactly how Fernando Mendoza will be at his age. And it just seems like Mendoza is taking over at a very interesting time. Like everyone has so much love for Kirk Cousins, what he did for the team, left the team in such a good spot, feeling good offensively. And now the guy who's replacing him. Can come in with a lot of confidence. Mendoza actually did speak out again. And he said that the trade actually did catch him off guard. And I didn't cover this part yesterday. But he said he had no inkling that it was coming. And of course, Clint Kubiak and, you know, John Spitek said that they weren't really working the phones on this deal until the day that it happened. Cousins said that he found out from a phone call. The screen said Clint Kubiak. And the first thing his coach asked was, are you in the building? Can you come talk to us? And on his way out, Cousins called the way the Raiders handled it, quote, pure class. And I think that says a lot about where this organization is right now and how fans feel about the team too. It's in good hands moving forward. There are some problems for sure with this team, but it's in good hands. And now you're ushering in a new era with the former number one overall pick, and he's been waiting nine games to finally get this moment. Clint Kubiak named him the official starter moving forward the other day, and Mendoza's work habits were a big part as to why they feel comfortable giving him. The spotlight Kubiak also said that Mendoza has, quote, exceeded expectations since day one. He also said that he is not shrinking or altering the offense whatsoever for him. He said that he's very comfortable running the same playbook with Fernando. And he said that he can feel the confidence coming off of Mendoza as well. He said that he looks and feels a lot more comfortable than he did in the spring. Mendoza himself called this a once in a lifetime opportunity and he said he's ready to keep a tradition going which was a Kirk Cousins tradition of after every win going to In-N-Out and that he's going to cover the tab for all his teammates. And from practice today Aiden O'Connell moves up to back him up to be the backup quarterback. And his only NFL action came in New England in week five with 10 snaps. He went six for eight for 48 yards in a game that the Raiders lost by 28. And the message from the organization, the offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, head coach has remained consistent and the same. It's all 11 of us as an organization. It is everyone on the field at that time that needs to come up big. Now, this is big news around the NFL. Seattle, their opponent on Sunday, has definitely taken notice to this. So Byron Murphy said that we can get after this guy. Murphy is a defensive tackle, so he'll line up right across from that interior line. Zune included. If he ends up back in the lineup after being cleared from a concussion, I mentioned yesterday that this could be an advantage for the Raiders because there's not much tape, uh, and stuff to watch too much video for other teams. Mike McDonald said that he's been preparing off of Mendoza's draft tape and the process stays the same, but some things have been changing a little bit because of how little footage they have of him in the NFL, at least, but this Seattle defense allows 18 points a game. The Raiders allow almost. 30, actually, no, in fact, 30 or more a game. Their number one in the NFL in total defense at 244 yards allowed a game. And in two of their last three games, they held the other team to three points. But Seattle is dealing with their own injury problems right now. Sam Darnold is out for this game and Drew Locke is expected to start. Their best interior lineman, Leonard Williams, is still out as well, and Shahid is coming back, but again, they're dealing with their own injury troubles themselves, whereas the Raiders look to be almost fully healthy this week, and even if they're banged up, and even with a record of five and four, they have won two of their last three games, and have looked really good doing that. They score it. 22 points a game on average. So Sunday doesn't need to be a shootout. It needs to be a better defensive effort. And for Mendoza to hopefully do his thing and some of the guys on offense to continue to do their things like Bowers, he's having a fantastic season. And speaking of the defense, that brings it back to a question that a lot of fans had. Maybe it's time to start looking in a different direction in terms of personnel. And Clint Kubiak, I like him as a coach, man. He wanted. Cooler heads to prevail after Sunday. A lot of people were calling for jobs to be taken, for people to be fired. And he said, hey, let's just take a second here. Let's look at some film. Let's continue to work on things. After that same loss, he was then asked again if he's planning significant changes on defense for the personnel, maybe even some staff. And his answer was simple. It was no. He said, I stand behind Rob Leonard and I stand behind our defensive staff. He also added that his belief in the scheme, they run and in the coaches who. And at the end of the day, this is a team and an organization that is all actually growing together. So I think firing somebody right now, especially with the spot that you're in, maybe it wouldn't be the best move. And for Rob Leonard himself on a personal note, as a first time coordinator, that is a huge public vote of confidence through the media after a disappointing loss. But on the other side of the coin, that is a big bet and a big vote of confidence because this team allows almost 30 points a game. And that is 32 out of 32 teams in the NFL. Dead last in that category. Over the last three games, they have given up 35, 33, and then 38. It's actually record book bad right now. Six straight games of 30 points or more allowed ties the NFL record. The last time they actually held anyone below 30 points was on September 27th of this season against the Saints. And that's the Saints. In the first three weeks, it allowed 13, 14, and 27. And the Raiders started 3-0. That's not bad. The run defense is actually the worst of it. 151 rushing yards allowed a game. That is dead last in the league. Total defense, again, no better. 399 yards allowed a game. Also dead last in the NFL. And in the last three games alone, the defense has allowed 413. yards a game and San Francisco ran for 190 but the public backing after the game in the press conference meant a lot to Leonard as well and he called it very humbling and he was speaking out today at practice as well. He said that they all share the same values transparency honesty and straight to the point and his read on what was happening and why things haven't been going his way or their way is that fatigue makes cowards of us all. He said, when you're on the field more often and you're on defense more often, more mistakes are going to happen because you're mentally fatigued, which is true to a degree. I can appreciate that perspective. He also says that the plan works when they run it. There's evidence of the team doing it. We obviously have to do it more consistently, and that is for sure. I do wonder if there is some shade being thrown here to the offense because pointing to the defense being on the field all the time would say that the offense isn't playing well. But they actually are playing very well. Except for the last game, of course. There was five turnovers in San Francisco, and that kept the defense on the field a large portion of that game. And Clint Kubiak said it himself, like, that is no recipe to win a game. When you turn the ball over five times, you're never going to win a game. Which makes Mendoza's first task very easy. Take care of the ball. But Sunday is a huge game and it doesn't necessarily define everything for this season. It doesn't define Fernando Mendoza's career in his first game. But it does tell us a lot. A win over this Seahawks team with a rookie quarterback could do wonders for the morale of this team and would bring them back up to 500 for the first time since they beat the Jets. And their next two games after the Seattle game at home is in Denver and then in Cleveland. A lot of people are expecting them to lose this game. But if you do go out and lose this game, you're then going on the road for two games. And it's probably the hardest stretch. of the season with a rookie quarterback. So things are going to get very interesting very quickly this week. This game is also personal for Clint Kubiak. Last season, he was Seattle's offensive coordinator and on a team that won the Super Bowl. And Mendoza's first NFL start comes against the defending Super Bowl champions. Against Drew Locke throwing on the other side. So to tie this all up with a bow in terms of all the good news that we got today. A new era is here. Fernando Mendoza. Everyone's excited for that. They basically have a full and healthy roster. That's fantastic news. Trey Zune is trending towards a return on Sunday after dealing with a concussion. And the entire organization, locker room, is behind their new starting quarterback. And you have coaches talking well about each other and just pushing forward with a positive and optimistic mindset. And Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern, we find out if this team is going to the moon, which would be amazing for the vibes in the fan base and the vibes in the locker room, or if they still have some stuff to work on. But a lot of people are mad about the defense. Let me know how you feel about that in the comments below, because a lot of fans were talking about it. Should they keep... Rob Leonard, let me know in the comments below. Yes or no. A lot of people want changes on defense right now. I still feel like this team is learning together, whether it's the players, the coaching staff, the entire organization. I feel like they are in good hands. But guys, my name is Darius Dominguez. This is Raiders Digest, and I'll see you in the next video.