Apr 11, 2026
3 min read
In an interview, Kirk Cousins revealed that he and Fernando Mendoza had the chance to watch a movie together recently in Las Vegas.
The video has already begun between Las Vegas Raiders defender Kirk Cousins and future Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL draft.
In an interview with "Good Morning Football," Cousins said Mendoza was in Las Vegas this week to go to the draft and the two had the opportunity to watch video together.
"He had a great way about it," Cousins said."It was good to watch some tape together and talk about ball. There's going to be a lot going on for us, so we're going to spend a lot of time together — meetings, practices, games."
"We all kind of lean on each other in the quarterback room. It's got to be a really collaborative effort where we're all helping each other. It should be a noisy room where we're all asking questions, we're all giving each other feedback on what we're thinking. Those are the years I've had my best years, when the quarterback room was a really strong room with great dialogue all year long."
Cousins praised Mendoza and said he even asked Mendoza for tips on throwing over the back shoulder.Cousins also praised the overall environment the former Indiana NFL quarterback has in Las Vegas.
"Fernando is going to be a great addition to our team," Cousins said "... He's going to have a great future in this league. I can be his voice in the room and help him in any way I can. He's going to have a lot of support from the coaching staff, but in a way, being able to see a veteran quarterback go through his habits and his routine and his process, I think that could be a huge asset for him... He's going back a lot for us. to help."
Cousins said he still feels like he has “unfinished business on the field,” adding that his goals include winning division titles and playoff games and “keeping Lombardi at the end of the season.”Before any of those goals can be achieved, Cousins will have to earn the starting quarterback role, something he said he is looking forward to.
"I don't want to start unless I'm the best option," Cousins said."I told Kent (Kubiak) that. He's the best player to play. As long as that's the case, I have no problem with the way it goes."
The Raiders are giving Cousins an incredible opportunity to start over.The organization hired Kubiak as its new coach after he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in February as offensive coordinator.Cousins has some history with Kubiak, with the coach serving as the Minnesota Vikings' quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020, Cousins' second and third years in Minnesota.
In 2021, Kubiak was named Minnesota's offensive coordinator.That season was the only year of Cousins' career in which he threw for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while also throwing fewer than 10 interceptions.
"Probably, honestly, I had my best season in 2021 when Klint was playing," Cousins said."I think a big part of that was that he was in the quarterback room for two years before that. From the first day he played, he knew how I thought, how I felt about certain plays, what I was good at, what I wasn't good at, and I think that helped us get on the same page from the fly."
"I think Clint's offense is a big nod to him. I think you saw that in Seattle this year, the way they combined the run and the pass, the way they played and pirated plays, the way they ran the system. There's a big nod there. I think it's a smart offense and that's a big reason why I wanted to come here."
Another thing that motivated Cousins for the Raiders was the view he got from Raiders minority owner Tom Brady.Cousins said Brady called him on FaceTime and talked about Brady's vision for the organization and whether Cousins would be a good fit.
"I said, and I called my wife and said, 'That was a life-changing call with Tom,'" Cousins said."He got it. He's been where I've been, and then some. He understands how you want to look, how you're supposed to look, and I felt a shot in the arm after I talked to him. I felt like it was a big push for me to go to Vegas."
