The Las Vegas Raiders have gathered a talented roster. Now, the more challenging task begins: maintaining their commitment to a long-term vision when adversity inevitably challenges the rebuilding process.
The Raiders enter training camp with a plan. New shotcaller Klint Kubiak has said Kirk Cousins will open the 2026 season as his starting quarterback, with rookie Fernando Mendoza waiting behind him. Plans, though, rarely survive first contact with a football field.
That gap between what a coaching staff intends and what practice reps actually reveal will define the Raiders’ summer, and not just at quarterback.
Cousins remains a competent veteran, but he’s also deep into his 30s, and his recent tape has invited scrutiny. Mendoza arrives with the kind of physical upside that makes even seasoned evaluators pause. If the rookie looks sharper once camp gets going, Las Vegas faces a decision that has less to do with development curves and more to do with organizational nerve.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said as much on a recent episode, arguing that a modern locker room won’t tolerate a coach starting the “lesser guy” just to protect a long-term grooming plan. He’s not wrong. Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers aren’t abstractions. They’re players whose belief in this staff will be shaped by whether merit or patience runs the depth chart.
Things can quickly take a turn for the Raiders…
That’s the real risk for Kubiak here, and it exists before he’s coached a single regular-season game. A rookie head coach who ignores clear on-field evidence sends a message that competition is theater, not substance. On the other hand, letting that tension play out honestly, without forcing drama that isn’t there, tells the roster something worth knowing about how this staff actually operates.
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The same idea, competence proven on the field rather than assumed from draft status, applies up front on defense. Jonah Laulu and Tonka Hemingway will compete for a starting job at defensive tackle, and both come into camp with real holes in their games. Each struggled against the run last season.
Pro Football Focus graded Laulu at 34.4 in that category and Hemingway even lower at 29.7. Hemingway at least offsets the problem with some pass-rush juice; Laulu hasn’t shown that same counterweight yet. Whoever can hold up against the run without losing what Hemingway already brings as a disruptor will probably win the job.
It’s a battle worth watching because nobody’s penciled in the winner yet.
Klint Kubiak is no Pete Carroll…
That same lack of a predetermined outcome should guide the whole rebuild. Kubiak has built a staff around development, a real shift from Pete Carroll’s win-now approach on a roster that wasn’t built for it. But development can’t mean patience with no limits. Some young players, like tackle Charles Grant and receiver Jack Bech, have already shown traits worth building around: real physical tools, functional skill, room to grow inside this scheme. Others, like interior lineman Will Putnam and cornerback Decamerion Richardson, had chances and didn’t do much with them.
A rebuild that treats every player the same, regardless of what they’ve shown, risks losing focus fast.
None of this calls for cutting bait just to look tough. Dont’e Thornton Jr., despite a rough rookie season, still has the kind of size and speed that’s hard to find, and he’s worth developing. Las Vegas shifting toward a bigger, more physical nickel corner under defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, a move that could push out someone like Greedy Vance, reflects a scheme change more than a judgment on the player.
The Raiders don’t need all the answers today. They need the conviction to let training camp reveal them.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images