Raiderstation

Call your shot....or add your own.

Dante Moore:

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Dante-Moore-QB-UCLA

Fernando Mendoza:

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Fer ... California

May the football godz look kindly down upon the feeble and inept.

Hellbound wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 7:08 am Another thing to note in all of this start Fernando or bust, the staff wants him to earn the job too. He isn't just going to be handed the job. The staff has also made that abundantly clear

I also heard the argument that there is no way Cousins is better than Mendoza. That is a fallacy in my opinion. Cousins experience could easily make him better than Mendoza at this moment. That does not mean that once Mendoza has more experience at the NFL level the will not immensely outdistance himself from Cousins, it just might mean that until the experience clicks in, that learning curve could make a difference in execution.

That said, the talent is there, it just needs to get reps. Regardless who starts the year, it is who finishes that matters and if that is not Mendoza we have a problem.

mstrbass2000 wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 7:59 am yes, we have all seen the talking heads reports and conventional thought is cousins starts...i want the raiders to be bold about it and get the kid in the game so he can learn from it and get up to game speed pronto

That's fine but it doesn't necessarily work that way. This isn’t video game land. Many factors go into this including how he could get absolutely wrecked and crush his confidence etc. Things don't need to be perfect for him, but this is still a very poor team with a poor oline until proven otherwise. We all want to see him sooner rather than later but you have to be smart about it

mstrbass2000 wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 7:59 am yes, we have all seen the talking heads reports and conventional thought is cousins starts...i want the raiders to be bold about it and get the kid in the game so he can learn from it and get up to game speed pronto

That's fine but it doesn't necessarily work that way. This isn’t video game land. Many factors go into this including how he could get absolutely wrecked and crush his confidence etc. Things don't need to be perfect for him, but this is still a very poor team with a poor oline & offense until proven otherwise. We all want to see him sooner rather than later but you have to be smart about it

Hellbound wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 9:22 am That's fine but it doesn't necessarily work that way. This isn’t video game land. Many factors go into this including how he could get absolutely wrecked and crush his confidence etc. Things don't need to be perfect for him, but this is still a very poor team with a poor oline & offense until proven otherwise. We all want to see him sooner rather than later but you have to be smart about it

i dont see that happening with this kid...dude has heart and moxy to be great guys like that wanna play and r not afraid "eye of the tiger "

ps has anyone else seen the preview for "i play rocky" man that clip transported me back to rocky 1

mstrbass2000 wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 1:53 pm i dont see that happening with this kid...dude has heart and moxy to be great guys like that wanna play and r not afraid "eye of the tiger "

ps has anyone else seen the preview for "i play rocky" man that clip transported me back to rocky 1

Flutie, McGloin and Gradkowski were often described to have some moxie & heart in them too

I think we should play week 1 with no lineman ala that colts trick play from some years ago. Just let Mendoza get absolutely wrecked. It will build his toughness

TruR8r wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 6:31 pm Screenshot_20260722_182758_Facebook.jpg

I would tell him to get a new agent.

TruR8r wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 6:31 pm Screenshot_20260722_182758_Facebook.jpg

Makes me wonder because all 4 top rookie QB's that were drafted are not signed. Are the teams talking to one another? If i'm Fernando, and I want to be in camp on time, I'm telling my agents you better have me in camp on time or I'm finding new agents that can.

Pretty hard to believe this is a big sticking point. WTF difference does it matter if a small % of the signing bonus is delayed for a few months? It's all guaranteed right?
That goes for both sides.

Raider_Dave wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 9:02 pm Pretty hard to believe this is a big sticking point. WTF difference does it matter if a small % of the signing bonus is delayed for a few months? It's all guaranteed right?
That goes for both sides.

It's all about keeping precedent and moving forward, really on both ends, since the Raiders haven't done a 100% all at once.
I bet Mendoza doesn't have beef either way, but the agent will argue most other top QB's now have been getting it all at once, why not you? You're Fernando freaking Mendoza! Heisman Trophy winner, National Champ, best prospect since Peyton Manning! If anyone deserves it, it's you! And you need to be a team player and respect those who fought these battles before you, we need to keep the players union strong by not giving back things we fought for and have now won.

Getting all the money right now > not quite getting it all right now for many.

Hellbound wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2026 2:25 pm Flutie, McGloin and Gradkowski were often described to have some moxie & heart in them too

really... flutie, mcgloin and gradkowski as a comparison to fernando

flutie was a shrimp, if he was as big and tall with an equal arm id agree he had heart and moxy rivaling fernando...

SkullCrusher wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2026 6:48 am It's all about keeping precedent and moving forward, really on both ends, since the Raiders haven't done a 100% all at once.
I bet Mendoza doesn't have beef either way, but the agent will argue most other top QB's now have been getting it all at once, why not you? You're Fernando freaking Mendoza! Heisman Trophy winner, National Champ, best prospect since Peyton Manning! If anyone deserves it, it's you! And you need to be a team player and respect those who fought these battles before you, we need to keep the players union strong by not giving back things we fought for and have now won.

Getting all the money right now > not quite getting it all right now for many.

this is business and the agent is in control of the process with the family following whatever the agent tells em...i dont see fernando stepping in until it affects him

SkullCrusher wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2026 6:48 am It's all about keeping precedent and moving forward, really on both ends, since the Raiders haven't done a 100% all at once.
I bet Mendoza doesn't have beef either way, but the agent will argue most other top QB's now have been getting it all at once, why not you? You're Fernando freaking Mendoza! Heisman Trophy winner, National Champ, best prospect since Peyton Manning! If anyone deserves it, it's you! And you need to be a team player and respect those who fought these battles before you, we need to keep the players union strong by not giving back things we fought for and have now won.

Getting all the money right now > not quite getting it all right now for many.

Gotta believe that if Mendoza gets his money up front, his agent does as well, but yeah, it's probably about the Raiders past history and them not wanting to create a new "precedent".

I think all 4 of the unsigned QBs are hoping one of the others signs first and use that as a gauge/lever to maybe help negotiations for the other 3...and once the first one signs, the others will be close behind.

According to Q, the Raiders usually pay their first rounds like 75% of the bonus at signing, then the rest in two payments throughout the year. The thing is though supposedly since Burrow was drafted number 1, the number 1 pick gets 100% at signing.