For Just The Second Time In 19 Seasons, No Rookie QB Will Start Week 1

The days of young quarterbacks patiently waiting for their turn to take over after they learn the NFL game are mostly a thing of the past.

That's what made the Las Vegas Raiders ' decision to keep No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza on the bench to start the season behind Kirk Cousins a little unusual, even if it was telegraphed from the moment he was picked.

Mendoza is the first quarterback taken No. 1 overall to start his career on the bench since Baker Mayfield in 2018, with the last six since then earning Week 1 starts. Mayfield came in as a reserve for Cleveland in Week 3 that season and made his first start the following week. When Mendoza does it remains to be seen.

But with Mendoza and No. 13 pick Ty Simpson of the Los Angeles Rams starting the season as reserves, this marks just the second time in the last 19 seasons that no rookie quarterback will start the season opener. It also happened in 2022, when Kenny Pickett was the only QB taken in the first round when he went 20th to Pittsburgh.

Before that, it hadn't happened since 2007 when JaMarcus Russell was drafted first overall by the Raiders. He held out that summer and didn't sign a contract until after the opener. He didn't start that season until the final game.

There were three rookie quarterbacks starting the opener in three of the previous five seasons as teams have become quicker to turn over the reins as the differences between the college and pro games have lessened.

That's been especially true of No. 1 picks for a long time. Mendoza is the 30th quarterback taken first overall since the start of the common draft era in 1967. 

Twenty of those QBs started the season opener as rookies and all but one made at least one start in their first year, with only Carson Palmer in 2003 missing out. Palmer didn't play at all that season for Cincinnati before taking over in 2004.

Three others made their first starts early with Tim Couch (Game 2), Mayfield and Alex Smith (Game 5) getting the chance in the opening weeks. Michael Vick made his first start in the eighth game in 2001, while Eli Manning (Game 10), Jared Goff (Game 10), Vinny Testaverde (Game 12) and Russell didn't get the chance until late in their rookie seasons.

The Raiders also will tie a record by having a different head coach and different starting quarterback for the opener in four straight seasons. The streak started in 2023 with coach Josh McDaniels and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, followed by Antonio Pierce and Gardner Minshew in 2024, Pete Carroll and Geno Smith in 2025 and now Klint Kubiak and Cousins.

The only other team to do that was the Houston Texans from 2020-23, with coach Bill O'Brien and Deshaun Watson the first year, followed by David Culley and Tyrod Taylor, Lovie Smith and Davis Mills, and DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud.

Reporting by the Associated Press.