The Fernando Mendoza era has begun in Las Vegas. The Raiders named the 2026 No. 1 pick their starting quarterback after veteran Kirk Cousins was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday, general manager John Spytek announced.

Mendoza will make his first career start Sunday at home against the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. It will be his second appearance of the season.

His NFL debut came late in a Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots. Mendoza completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards in that appearance.

"It's something that he's worked very hard for since the moment he walked into this building," Spytek said of Mendoza. "I want to stop short of saying he's earned it, but he put us in a position where we had to make a really hard decision today, with his growth as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, as a quarterback."

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Spytek said the decision does not mean the 4-5 Raiders are punting on the season and looking toward 2027. Las Vegas remains in the playoff hunt as Mendoza prepares to take over.

"That is not the intention of this," Spytek said. "We have a big game this week against the defending world champs, and we intend to attack it like we would any week. That's expected of us."

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said Mendoza "exceeded" the team's expectations in practice. While waiting for his opportunity, Mendoza continued to conduct himself as if he were already the starter.

Mendoza wore his helmet throughout games and stayed close to quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan. He recited the playcalls he heard through the headset device in his helmet and spent late nights on the team's indoor practice field reviewing the game plan.

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Kubiak noticed progress in Mendoza's accuracy and command of the offense over time. He also saw improvement in Mendoza's ability to enter and exit the huddle and operate two minute drills.

The coach said Mendoza showed that he is ready both physically and mentally. Mendoza was in the building Tuesday studying for the upcoming game.

"He puts a lot of work in," Kubiak said. "His teammates know how prepared he is. It's not just lip service, but he has shown it on the practice field."

Kubiak knew Mendoza's opportunity would eventually arrive, though he did not know exactly when. The Raiders selected Mendoza with the hope that he would become their franchise quarterback and provide stability at the position for the foreseeable future.

Mendoza displayed the potential to fill that role during his lone season at Indiana. The Heisman Trophy winner helped the Hoosiers capture their first national title while reaching career highs in several categories.

He threw for 3,535 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes, along with a 72% completion rate and a 90.3 QBR. Each of those marks represented a career high for Mendoza.