Las Vegas Raiders Open the Kubiak Era With Fernando Mendoza Signed and Maxx Crosby Cleared

The last two holdouts put pen to paper just in time. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and cornerback Jermod McCoy signed their rookie contracts before Las Vegas Raiders rookies reported to Henderson on Thursday, July 23, which means Klint Kubiak's first training camp as a head coach opens with zero contract drama and a completely reimagined quarterback room. After a 3-14 season that cost Pete Carroll his job, that counts as the cleanest week of Las Vegas Raiders news in a long while — the Heisman winner is signed, Maxx Crosby says his surgically repaired knee is ready for Day 1, and the veterans don't even report until Tuesday.

A quarterback room with an actual plan

For once, the Raiders' QB situation is interesting for the right reasons. Kirk Cousins, entering his 15th NFL season, signed in free agency to be the bridge. The four-time Pro Bowler brings more than 44,700 career passing yards and 298 touchdowns — top six among active quarterbacks — and the logic behind the fit is airtight: he spent three seasons with Kubiak in Minnesota, piling up 12,089 yards and 94 touchdowns in that system, and he already knows offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko too. Kubiak has made clear he prefers a veteran starting Week 1, and everything out of Henderson suggests Cousins opens the season as QB1 while Mendoza develops behind him — possibly for the entire year. "I think the combination of my body feeling good and getting with Klint and Andrew, who I had been with previously," is how Cousins explained the comfort level, and comfort is exactly what a 15th-year quarterback is supposed to provide a rebuilding team.

Mendoza, for his part, is saying all the right things. "Everybody in the quarterback room is a top-tier quarterback and it's going to be competing with each other, not competing against each other," he said this week. Behind those two sit Aidan O'Connell — 17 starts, 20 touchdowns, and three years of injuries and QB competitions on his resume — and undrafted rookie Jacob Clark out of Missouri State, who threw for nearly 8,000 career yards in college. It also doesn't hurt that minority owner Tom Brady has made himself available as a resource for the rookie. Not the worst mentor to have on speed dial.

The Mendoza era starts quietly, by design

About that rookie: Mendoza arrives with about as much shine as a quarterback prospect can carry. He won the Heisman Trophy while leading Indiana to an undefeated season and a national championship, throwing 41 touchdowns at a 72 percent completion rate. Kubiak raved about his work habits back in minicamp — "he's working his tail off... he's gotten a ton better" — but the head coach has also signaled he'd be perfectly happy if Mendoza never takes a meaningful snap in 2026. That's not a lack of faith; it's the plan. The worst thing Las Vegas could do with the most valuable asset the franchise has acquired in decades is throw him behind a developing roster in September. The evaluation this summer is real, though: coaches want to know how close he is, in case circumstances force the issue.

Crosby's knee, and maybe the best defense he's ever had

Maxx Crosby played more than half of last season on a torn left meniscus, still produced 10 sacks, then had surgery that left him unable to walk for two months. This week he declared himself fully back: "I'll be out there for camp to start. I'll be out there Day 1... no restrictions." The team will ease his workload early as a precaution, but he's not on PUP, and after a proposed March trade to Baltimore fell through, he's still the face of this defense.

And for once, he has company. The front office rebuilt the back seven around him: linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, slot corner Taron Johnson, and edge rusher Kwity Paye all came aboard this offseason. Add second-year pieces and rookie corner Jermod McCoy — a Tennessee product who slid in the draft because of his knee history — competing with Darien Porter and Hezekiah Masses behind established starter Eric Stokes, and there's a plausible argument this is the most talented defense of Crosby's career. For a team that won three games, that's where respectability starts. Crosby seems to sense it too: "It's been the best offseason for sure. I've grown so much in so many ways."

The Raiders' receiver room is the open question

Here's the position battle worth actually tracking in camp. Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty give this offense two legitimate blue-chip skill players, but the wide receiver room behind them is unsettled. Tre Tucker leads the group. Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr., both 2025 draft picks, are coming off disappointing rookie seasons and need strong summers. Free-agent addition Jalen Nailor — another former Viking following the Kubiak trail — wants a bigger role than he ever had in Minnesota. Cousins has made a career out of elevating average receiver rooms, but somebody from this group has to claim the outside job, because defenses are going to spend all season doubling Bowers until proven otherwise.

Where things stand after 3-14

It's hard to overstate how complete the reset is. Carroll was fired after last season's 3-14 faceplant, Kubiak was hired shortly after Super Bowl LX, and the roster now bears the fingerprints of a staff that came in with a specific offensive identity — wide zone, play-action, a quarterback who gets the ball out on time. The new regime inherited real building blocks in Bowers, Jeanty, and Crosby, spent the No. 1 pick on the quarterback of the future, and papered the gaps with veterans who know the scheme. Nobody serious expects this team to contend in 2026. What Raiders fans should expect is a team that's coached coherently and gets meaningful answers about Mendoza's timeline — which is more than last season delivered. The schedule offers early measuring sticks, too: after Miami visits in Week 1 and the Week 2 trip to SoFi Stadium, the Chiefs come to Allegiant on Oct. 4, and the season closes in Kansas City in Week 18 — bookends against the division standard.

Key dates on the Raiders' calendar

Camp ramps up quickly from here:

• July 28 — veterans report to Henderson; first full practice Wednesday, July 29, with pads coming early the following week.
• Aug. 11 — open practice at Allegiant Stadium, 6 p.m. PT, with $5 tickets benefiting the Raiders Foundation.
• Aug. 13 — preseason opener vs. Arizona at Allegiant, 5 p.m. PT.
• Aug. 18 — joint practice with the Texans in Houston, ahead of the Aug. 20 preseason game on ESPN.
• Aug. 27 — preseason finale vs. San Francisco; roster cutdown to 53 follows on Aug. 30.
• Sept. 13 — season opener vs. Miami at Allegiant Stadium, 1:25 p.m. PT, before a Week 2 trip to face the Chargers.

So the week ahead is the real start of it: veterans in the building Tuesday, full-squad practice Wednesday, pads shortly after. Every piece of Las Vegas Raiders news between now and September will get filtered through two questions — how good can this defense be, and how fast is Mendoza coming along? A franchise that has spent years lurching between plans finally appears to have one. Camp is where we find out whether it survives contact.