Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has walked into the Las Vegas Raiders like it's nobody's business. He got this franchise off to a remarkable start, winning three games out of the gate, but the team has faltered lately and dropped several games in a row.
Cousins is still the starting quarterback, but this franchise also has rookie Fernando Mendoza waiting in the wings. The question isn't if Mendoza will take over as the quarterback of this team. It's just a matter of when. That timeline has one NFL analyst wondering if the Raiders could make a bold move and already trade Cousins before the NFL's Nov. 10 trade deadline.
Raiders could trade Kirk Cousins before the NFL trade deadline as Fernando Mendoza waits for his chance to take over at quarterback
In a piece out on Tuesday, Jared Dubin of CBS Sports lays out some trade options. One of them is the Raiders trading Cousins. It seems really quick to do that, and Cousins has only been in Vegas for a few months, but stranger things have happened.
"Klint Kubiak is already getting questions about when he's going to turn the reins over to Fernando Mendoza, which means Kirk Cousins' time under center is likely coming to an end fairly soon," Dubin points out. "Like Brissett, he could be valuable to a team looking for either a quality backup or a fill-in starter for the rest of the season."
He adds that Las Vegas "might prefer to just keep him around and have him mentor Mendoza for the rest of the year, though."
Frankly, Mendoza is still a big unknown. As a rookie quarterback who has pretty much zero NFL experience, the Raiders would be wise to keep someone as talented as Cousins in the fold through the season.
