Fernando Mendoza is set to make his preseason debut for the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals.
It’s been quite the rise for Mendoza in the football world over the last year. This time in 2025, he was a bit of an unknown. He was going to lead the Indiana Hoosiers through their season. But very few had any idea about the star he would become.
Fast forward a year, and he is a national champion and the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Of course, none of that matters on Thursday. All that matters is how he performs in his first taste of NFL action.
Raiders’ Klint Kubiak Given Wisdom on How to Handle Fernando Mendoza’s Preseason Debut
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky appeared on an episode of ESPN’s “Get Up.” The panel discussed how the Raiders’ new head coach Klint Kubiak should approach Mendoza’s usage in Thursday’s preseason opener. Orlovsky spoke about comfort, but also wanted Vegas to challenge its franchise quarterback all the same.
“If I’m Klint Kubiak, I want to get him comfortable, get him going,” Orlovsky said. “Then I want to stress him a little bit just to see how he reacts.”
In terms of what he wanted to see from Mendoza, Orlovsky spoke about things we did not see from the Heisman Trophy winner while playing at Indiana.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s FREE NFL Mock Draft Simulator
“Ease getting in and out of the huddle, something that he (Mendoza) didn’t do in college,” Orlovsky added. “Ease at the line of scrimmage, handling all the formations, the shifts, the motions that Klint Kubiak is going to put him under. Handling with ease being underneath the center.”
Mendoza was dominant during his 2025 campaign with Indiana. He threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions. His 93.3 PFN CFB QB Impact rating ranked second in the nation behind Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia.
Despite the hype and attention, it does not appear that Mendoza is the Raiders’ Week 1 starting quarterback. That honor goes to veteran Kirk Cousins, who signed with Las Vegas this offseason. Cousins threw for a little more than 1,700 yards last season, earning a PFN NFL QB Impact rating of 73.1.
The Raiders certainly have high hopes for Mendoza. And Thursday night’s matchup with Arizona is their first chance to evaluate him against real NFL talent. Vegas kicks off its preseason opener with the Cardinals at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
