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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The Las Vegas Raiders selected the player they believe will be the future of their franchise, with Indiana Hoosiers champion and Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza, in this past April's NFL Draft.
However, it still remains to be seen when Mendoza gets the starting quarterback job, as veteran Kirk Cousins also joined the team during this past offseason.
While recently chatting with ESPN's Dan Graziano, Kirk Cousins shared his thoughts on how the quarterback room and competition have been so far during the past week or so of training camp.
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“Good quarterback room. We’ve enjoyed just working together as a group. We have good dialogue every day. I think the organization is positioned well, having drafted Fernando,” Cousins said. “I’m gonna try to hold him off as long as I can. We’ll see how it goes up ahead.”
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When Graziano mentioned that it was an "interesting position" since Cousins was also there to help out Mendoza as he becomes acclimated to the league, Cousins said, "Oh yeah, you can do both. You can do both."
Mendoza comes into his first NFL season with a strong resume and high expectations. However, as other teams have done with their rookie QBs, having a veteran at the helm to start their journey will help ease him into the starting QB spot.
Last month, head coach Klint Kubiak revealed that Cousins was the team's starter to open training camp. Time will tell who the starter is for the Raiders' preseason games and regular-season opener.
"He's the guy, and he deserves it because he's played really good football. But I want Fernando and Aidan [O'Connell] to push him," Kubiak said.
So far, it appears that Cousins is fully bought into being part of the Raiders, which makes for the fourth team he's played quarterback with since entering the NFL in 2012. The four-time Pro Bowler can certainly help Mendoza learn from his experiences in the NFL and also try to help Las Vegas get some wins.
“Honestly, it’s exceeded my expectations. You know, I tried to get my mind right for living on Mars when I moved here, and It’s been great. It’s sunny every day. Great culture here. I like my teammates. I like the coaches. I like the system. So, I’m excited now; we just gotta get the ball right and go win some games,” he said.
Last month, a Fox Sports report indicated that the Raiders have a win total set for over 5.5 games at the sportsbooks. Six wins would double last season's total, which helped them land the No. 1 pick in Mendoza. Still, it will be interesting to see how long before Mendoza gets his chance to shine as the starting QB, with Cousins still listed ahead of him on the depth chart.
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