{"id":1271,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/1271","headline":"Raiders coach won't fully commit to Kirk Cousins after fourth straight loss","dek":"Klint Kubiak says Cousins remains the starter for now, but admits the team is \"thinking about everything\" including rookie Fernando Mendoza.","body":"The Raiders opened the season 3-0 and looked like they had their quarterback question settled. Four straight losses later, that confidence has cracked. After Sunday's 35-21 loss, head coach Klint Kubiak was asked directly whether Fernando Mendoza, the team's first-overall rookie quarterback, could take over for Kirk Cousins. His answer did not shut the door. \"At this point we're thinking about everything,\" Kubiak said.\n\nReports since then have been mixed on what that actually means for the week ahead. One account has Kubiak shutting down any talk of an immediate switch, with Cousins remaining the starter and Mendoza staying in the backup role. Another frames it as Cousins' job security taking a real hit, with the coach declining to rule out a change.\n\nCousins, for his part, sounds at peace with whatever is decided. Asked about the possibility of being replaced, he said his mindset \"is really the same every day that it was in March or April,\" adding, \"if I'm not the best option then I don't want to be out there, either. I want our football team to have the best chance to win games.\"\n\nThe Raiders will need to settle the question soon as the losing streak stretches on.","published_at":"2026-10-26T21:35:31.457639+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders HC clears up QB situation amid calls to bench Kirk Cousins for Fernando Mendoza","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-hc-clears-qb-situation-200845408.html"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Kirk Cousins to remain Raiders' starting QB, Fernando Mendoza to stay in backup role","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7727433/2026/10/26/kirk-cousins-raiders-starting-qb-jets-game-fernando-mendoza-backup/"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Kirk Cousins: \"If I'm not the best option, I don't want to be out there\"","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/kirk-cousins-if-im-not-the-best-option-i-dont-want-to-be-out-there"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Kirk Cousins’ Raiders job security takes a hit as coach won’t rule out Fernando Mendoza","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/25/sports/kirk-cousins-raiders-job-security-takes-a-hit-as-coach-wont-rule-out-fernando-mendoza/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders open door for Fernando Mendoza to replace Kirk Cousins as quarterback","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-open-door-fernando-mendoza-003950836.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Kirk Cousins Is Too Old,’ ‘Hurting This Offense’ — Calls Mount for Raiders To Start Fernando Mendoza After Las Vegas’ 4th Straight Loss","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kirk-cousins-too-old-hurting-005159959.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kirk Cousins: "If I'm not the best option, I don't want to be out there"","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kirk-cousins-im-not-best-021221145.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kirk Cousins sends clear ‘don’t want to be out’ message to Raiders as major QB pressure builds","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kirk-cousins-sends-clear-don-033101758.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders’ Kirk Cousins Makes History Amid Growing Quarterback Controversy","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-kirk-cousins-makes-history-045418876.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders 'thinking about everything' after latest loss, including potentially starting Fernando Mendoza over Kirk Cousins at QB","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/raiders-thinking-about-everything-after-latest-loss-including-potentially-starting-fernando-mendoza-over-kirk-cousins-at-qb-052529166.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kirk Cousins’ Raiders job security takes a hit as coach won’t rule out Fernando Mendoza","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kirk-cousins-raiders-job-security-013151054.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"It’s time for Raiders to give Fernando Mendoza the keys after 4 straight losses with Kirk Cousins","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/time-raiders-fernando-mendoza-keys-064614620.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Have to’ – Klint Kubiak’s honest answer on Fernando Mendoza replacing Kirk Cousins as Raiders QB1","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/klint-kubiak-honest-answer-fernando-073000975.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kirk Cousins has classy response to Fernando Mendoza questions","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kirk-cousins-classy-response-fernando-112025573.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Should it be Fernando Mendoza time after Raiders' 4th straight loss?","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fernando-mendoza-time-raiders-4th-130217808.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Klint Kubiak’s comments suggest Fernando Mendoza might start sooner rather than later","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/klint-kubiak-comments-suggest-fernando-142019694.html"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Changes coming for Raiders? Potential fantasy impact for Jeanty, Cousins and others","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7726459/2026/10/26/fantasy-football-fernando-mendoza-raiders-jeanty/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Will the Raiders start Fernando Mendoza over Kirk Cousins in Week 8?","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-start-fernando-mendoza-over-173254210.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"No QB controversy: Kubiak backs Kirk Cousins as starter","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/no-qb-controversy-kubiak-backs-202426066.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders to start Kirk Cousins vs. Jets despite losing skid, Fernando Mendoza speculation: ‘There is no controversy’","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/raiders-to-start-kirk-cousins-vs-jets-despite-losing-skid-fernando-mendoza-speculation-there-is-no-controversy-202800009.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Klint Kubiak says Kirk Cousins will remain Raiders' QB1 over Fernando Mendoza","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/klint-kubiak-says-kirk-cousins-210136252.html"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Fernando Mendoza’s time will have to wait — Raiders staying put at QB","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/sports/raiders-sticking-with-kirk-cousins-at-quarterback-despite-fernando-mendoza-speculation/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders HC Klint Kubiak sticking with Kirk Cousins despite Fernando Mendoza buzz","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-hc-klint-kubiak-sticking-211506407.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Raiders coach Klint Kubiak shuts down QB talk. Kirk Cousins remains the starter","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raiders-coach-klint-kubiak-shuts-004707512.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nbcsports.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0837dea/2147483647/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhdliveextra-a.akamaihd.net%2FHD%2Fimage_sports%2FNBCU_Sports_Group_-_nbcsports%2F594%2F114%2Fnbc_pftpm_lvlar_261025.jpg","credit":"Pro Football Talk","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}