Last minute Raiders Changes, News and Reports Before NFL Week 9 vs. Seahawks

We just got multiple new rumors, reports, and updates ahead of the Raiders next game on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks and Clint Kubiak was asked who the Raiders emergency third quarterback is heading into the future and he said I'm not going to tell you plan C but plan C is definitely a part of the game plan. That of course is because Kirk Cousins was traded this week and after the trade the Raiders now only have two quarterbacks. One of them is a rookie who's making his first First start and debut on Sunday. Eight career passes for 48 yards, and he starts on Sunday, again, against a defense that allows the fewest yards in football. Seattle opened this as three-point favorites, and since the Cousins trade, they are now at a 6.5. But Seattle has some injury troubles of their own, including their quarterback, and four starters out of the lineup from the final injury report on Friday. And the Raiders head coach is facing the team that he last coached. Last year. There's so many different storylines heading into this one. Let's break it all down. So yesterday, Clint Kubiak said that the Raiders are, quote, definitely in discussion about bringing in a third quarterback at some point. That doesn't necessarily mean before Sunday or later today, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that's not happening either. But he did say that there is a plan C and they are on the way. Fernando Mendoza makes his NFL starting debut on Sunday. He has eight passes thrown in the NFL in mop-up time against the Patriots for 48 yards and no touchdowns so far. In the preseason, he completed 25 of 45 passes for 240. 40 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and he was sacked four times. At Indiana, he threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions and won the national title. Now that is the Mendoza everyone is hoping to see and hopes makes his debut as a starter on Sunday. The one that Seattle's seeing, and they love seeing rookie quarterbacks, they absolutely devour them the last couple of years. It could be a tough game. And Seattle's head coach, Mike McDonald, is about to play and face his third straight number one overall pick at quarterback Caleb Williams in 2024, Cam Ward in 2025, and now this year. Fernando Mendoza in 2026. The Raiders are four and five third in the AFC West and three games back. Their last game was a 38 and 17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, where Kirk Cousins threw 32 passes for 216 yards and three interceptions. Before that, there was some life in this Raiders season. The Raiders beat the Jets 38 to 33 on the road and then lost 35 to 21 to the Rams before that. On the other side of things, Seattle is five and four. They're second in the NFL. And FC West, they beat Arizona 17 to 3 last week. They lost 34 to 17 to Chicago the week before that. And then they beat Kansas City 20 to 3 the week before that. And there's definitely a pattern showing there with Seattle's defense. Look at the points that they've given up in the last three games. Three points, 34 points, and three points again. So you get either the best defense in the league, which they are, and that's where they're ranked. Or you get a game that is similar for them to the Chicago game where the Raiders can open this up a little bit. Now head coach Clint Kubiak is facing his former team in the Seattle Seahawks and he said that quote the more experience you have in the NFL the more you treat them all the same. It's going to be an important game because it's the next game for us. He was Seattle's offensive coordinator last season working under McDonald and they won the Super Bowl together. When asked about Fernando Mendoza's first start, he said, quote, we're going to go do what the whole team does best, all 11 guys. He also said that he has, quote, extremely strong bonds over there on the other side that he'll have forever, but then it is game time come Sunday. The Raiders also named their Week 10 captains heading into Sunday. Dariq Young, N'Kobi Dean, and Colton Miller will serve as the captains heading into this week's game. And with a rookie quarterback, the captains do absolutely have to set the tone and take the charge with leadership. And guys, before we get further into the updates and everything you need to know ahead of Sunday's game, a quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. We just hit 4,000 subscribers here on the channel, well on our way to our goal of 5,000. Thank you so much for the support the whole way. And if you want to stay up to date with everything that's going on with the Raiders, from postgame reactions to injury reports to practice to what's happening with Fernando Mendoza and everything in between, make sure to... Go down below, hit that free subscribe button and I'll continue to keep you guys updated every single day. Now we do have some good news heading into this game. Guard Trae Young is cleared and he was a full participant Friday after suffering a concussion in last week's game. And Clint Kubiak said he is good to go and will be in the lineup. However, defensive tackle Thomas Booker is out with an ankle injury and receiver Deontay Thornton Jr., who looks like he's always hurt, is out with a back injury. So they're all listed as questionable and Thornton did not practice at all on Friday. Seattle is dealing with their own quarterback issues right now and Sam Darnold is out, tackle Charles Cross is out, Quinton Nelson is out, and Leonard Williams is also out. That is two offensive line spots and a defensive tackle out for Seattle. So that is something that I think the Raiders can take advantage of this week. Now, Drew Locke is stepping in to take over as quarterback this week. And Clint Kubiak said that he had, you know, so much respect for Drew and how good of a player he is. And he called him a starting quarterback in this league. He's 2-0 this year and Drew is winning football games. Locke has 597 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in three games so far this season. Seattle's head coach, McDonald, said, quote, Locke is confident and optimistic. So we're in good shape. And Darnold is out with a rib injury still this week. So it's reportedly a cracked rib. It's a big thing for them. They're looking to get back into the playoff race and really, really push here. So this is a big game. He's also one and three as a starter against the Raiders as well. So all of that with Denver, by the way. Now, let's talk about a bright spot. Let's have some fun. Brock Bowers has been fantastic. this season and the offense can count on him. He caught 112 passes for 1194 yards in 2024 and that is the most by any Raider in the 600 yard filter since 1999. He has 658 receiving yards in seven games this season, the most of any tight end in the league and that is 94. a game on average seven straight games with 70 or more receiving yards and his last three went 73 92 and 111 in those seven games he took 27 of the raiders targets 69 of 253 in san francisco last week he had seven catches for 111 yards and a 21 yard touchdown plus a fumble As well, but everyone was giving the ball away. Now with Mendoza, they're saying that they're keeping the playbook the same, but the question is whether the ball still finds him 10 times or whether Seattle's defense takes them away So Seattle allows 4.1 yards a play, the fewest in the NFL and 257 yards a game. The Raiders average 2.9 yards a carry, the worst in the league and allow 151 rushing yards a game, which is the most. Although in the air, the Raiders are a little bit better than you would think. 259 passing yards a game, fifth in the league and 20 touchdown passes, which is third But that was all with Kirk Cousins. The Raiders score 26 points a game, eighth in the league, and gives up 30 a game, which is most in the league. And Seattle's obviously no pushover on the ground 89 rushing yards allowed a game fourth in the NFL in that category. Without Darnold, though, Seattle's offense is 26th in EPA per play. Seattle's also turned the ball over three times in its five wins and 11 times in its four losses So there's a lot going into this game. A lot of big storylines. Seattle is very banged up right now. The Raiders have a rookie starting quarterback. They're also a bit banged up considering on Thursday, we thought that they were completely healthy. You have Trey Zune coming back. Brock Bowers is playing very well. The playbook's not changing. This is an emotional game for a guy like Clint Kubiak, who's playing his former team. But easily, the biggest storyline coming into this game is the number one overall pick, rookie starting quarterback, making his starting debut. And let me know in the comments below, guys, do you think they win his starting debut? Comment yes or no Let me know how you feel in the comments below. And guys, my name is Darius Dominguez. This is Raiders Digest, and I will see you in the next video.