HENDERSON (KTNV) — Las Vegas Raiders new head coach Klint Kubiak made it crystal clear who will start under center come day one of training camp on Wednesday.
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"Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback," Kubiak said. "He's the guy, he's going to get a bunch of reps, he deserves them because he's played really good football, but I want Fernando and I want Aidan to push him."
First overall pick and projected future franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza will still have Kubiak's full attention. Kubiak said he'll be eyeing how Mendoza handles adversity just as much as his accuracy.
"How does he deal with it — does he make the same mistake twice? How quickly can he correct himself? When he does make a mistake, what is his attitude like, what is his demeanor like?" Kubiak said.
Mendoza's demeanor will be on display every day of camp starting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Kubiak has had to rearrange the daily schedule for an early morning start due to the heat.
"We'll use our afternoon walkthroughs to prepare for the next day's practice, and that's where players have to be self-motivated and study their scripts on their iPad [after practice]," Kubiak said.
While he loves the process, there is one thing Kubiak enjoys even more during camp.
"When you're with the guys 11 hours a day, is what the league gives you, you can't help but build great relationships," Kubiak said. "Those are the things you love about being a coach. During training camp, there are no wins and losses, there's a lot less pressure for the players, there's a lot of great time to get to know each other."
According to Kubiak, the entire roster is healthy and ready to go on Wednesday morning.
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