A Las Vegas Raiders star’s surprising comments could offer a major clue about the team’s quarterback plans and what comes next for Fernando Mendoza.
Tyler Linderbaum, the center Las Vegas made the highest-paid interior lineman in NFL history, just gave the clearest outsider’s read yet on Mendoza’s readiness to play quarterback in the NFL.
Fresh off joint practices with the rookie, Linderbaum said Mendoza is “taking command of the huddle” and growing fast in a role that’s “hard to do as a young guy,” while pointedly adding the No. 1 pick knows he’s “not where he wants to be.” Linderbaum also flagged the one thing that can make or break a young quarterback behind him: the snap exchange.
Tyler Linderbaum knows what he’s talking about…
Mendoza barely took snaps under center in college, and Linderbaum made clear there’s zero room for error on that play. On veteran Kirk Cousins, Linderbaum was equally telling, praising his preparation and experience as the standard every young player in the building is chasing.
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Linderbaum is the one player with a hand on the ball every single snap for both quarterbacks, which makes him the most credible internal judge of the Cousins versus Mendoza competition Las Vegas built its whole offseason around. The Raiders paid him $81 million this spring precisely so he could be the steadying voice at the line and take the mental burden off whoever is throwing the ball. That means every word he says about Mendoza’s command and operation is effectively a progress report on the most important storyline in Henderson: when, not if, the rookie takes over.
Keep an eye on Cousins maintaining the starting job for Week 1, but Linderbaum’s positive comments indicate that the margin for error in that decision may be narrower than the Raiders are publicly suggesting.
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