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Even before going first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza generated high expectations. As his rookie season pressure builds, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow made a major show of support for Mendoza.
Journalist Kalan Hooks shared Burrow’s comments on X, with the veteran quarterback praising Mendoza’s play and leadership with the Indiana Hoosiers.
“It was fun to seeing teams like Indiana go make it happen, and obviously Fernando was the main part of that,” Burrow said. “The quarterback has the ball in his hands a lot. It’s a team game, but the quarterback drives that for us.”
Mendoza enters the league after helping Indiana to an unbeaten 2025 season with a 16-0 record, a national title, and the Heisman Trophy.
His journey caught Burrow’s eye because Mendoza followed a similar path at LSU. Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns in 2019, won the Heisman Trophy, and later became the No. 1 overall pick by Cincinnati.
Burrow knows how much pressure follows a quarterback from a title-winning college season.
“He seems to be a great leader, great player. We will see what he does at NFL,” Burrow said in the clip shared by Kalan Hooks on X.
Mendoza backed up that leadership with a strong final college season. He completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns against six interceptions in 16 games, while adding 276 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground.
Burrow has made his belief in Mendoza clear, but the Kansas City Chiefs’ division rivals will decide how soon the rookie gets a real chance to reward that faith.
Raiders set a patient course for Mendoza’s first camp
Las Vegas plans to ease Mendoza into NFL work when rookies report on July 23, and practice begins on July 29.
Mendoza spent the spring learning new footwork and taking snaps from under center. He used that setup only five times in 36 college games, giving head coach Klint Kubiak a clear area for development.
“So given all that, could Mendoza win the job? I think it’s probably unlikely. Kubiak, I believe, will be very deliberate in how the Raiders bring Mendoza along,” Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote on Monday. “But it does sound like the Raiders will sprinkle Mendoza in with the first team this summer—as part of the rookie’s larger development plan.”
Cousins knows Kubiak’s system from their time together in Minnesota. That connection lets Las Vegas teach Mendoza without pushing him into the lineup too soon.
Do you think Mendoza can eventually claim the starting job this season, or should the Raiders stick with their patient approach? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
