Fernando Mendoza era with Raiders starts after Kirk Cousins trade

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The eyes of Las Vegas Raiders fans now turn to Fernando Mendoza — finally.

He likely will become Las Vegas' starting quarterback after the club traded Kirk Cousins to Minnesota just ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, though the Raiders have not yet made that announcement. Fourth-year pro Aidan O'Connell, who has 17 career starts, also is on the roster.

Raiders fans have been looking forward to this moment since it became clear at the end of last season Las Vegas would get the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to a national championship, winning the title with Raiders owner Mark Davis, part owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek watching from the sideline.

The team has been searching for a quarterback to lead the once-proud franchise back to the glory days that included winning three Lombardi Trophies. A fourth nearly came in the 2002 season when the Raiders last appeared in the Super Bowl.

It's been a long, dry stretch since. Two postseason appearances. No playoff victories.

Whether Mendoza and his strong right arm will be the one to break the drought is the question that hovers over the organization and almost certainly will define the legacies of Spytek and first-year head coach Klint Kubiak.

If Mendoza does take over at quarterback, he will be challenged immediately Sunday at home against defending Super Bowl championship Seattle. A road trip follows to Denver, which played in last season’s AFC championship game and is competing with Kansas City for the AFC West title.

The Raiders (4-5) ranked eighth with 26.4 points per game with Cousins at QB. That despite a run game that is second worst with a 71.3-yard average.

Cousins signed a deal with a $20 million guarantee — Atlanta picked up $8.7 million of that — as a veteran placeholder until it was time to give Mendoza the call. Cousins repeatedly said the best quarterback should play, be it him or Mendoza.

Given that Cousins clearly was the better quarterback in training camp and then followed with a regular season in which he threw 20 touchdown passes, second to the 23 of the Bengals' Joe Burrow.

That production gave Raiders management more freedom to bring Mendoza along slowly.

Now that the trade has been made, it's on Mendoza to show if he is indeed the quarterback the Raiders and their fans have long waited to see.

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