A fired-up Kirk Cousins digs in as Raiders starter while Fernando Mendoza surges in camp

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza eventually taking over as the Raiders' starting quarterback seems inevitable, so much so that the only question is a matter of when it occurs.

Kirk Cousins doesn't appear to be in any terrible hurry to hand the position to him, exhibiting the emotions and precision of someone ready to secure the spot entering Las Vegas' season.

"I think in this league, it’s kind of one day at a time," Cousins said. "You’re only as good as your last throw, your last practice. You try to every day go out and earn that opportunity and never take anything for granted.”

Coach Klint Kubiak made national news on the eve of training camp that Cousins would be the starter when practices began, but he was stating the obvious. Cousins ran the first-team offense in organized team activities and minicamp and there was no indication that would change entering camp.

Kubiak also made it clear at the time that he expected Mendoza and Aidan O'Connell to push Cousins, noting Friday he thought that position was off to a good start this camp.

“Any time they complete a ball better than (Cousins) does or get it out faster than he does, then he should get pissed and want to do it better,” Kubiak said. "That’s the goal, and I think they’ve done that in these first three practices. Every guy is doing something good every day, and it makes the other guy want to stay after practice a little bit longer to work on that throw that they missed.”

Cousins doesn't hold back much emotionally on the field, though none of that has been directed at Mendoza or O'Connell. He has punched his fist in the air after throwing a touchdown pass and gotten into some verbal back and forth with the defense.

“I think I’ve always kind of been pretty spirited and competitive in practice and kind of have a little inner fire," Cousins said. "Sometimes I can be relatively calm, but if you rattled the cage, then maybe you’ll see a little different guy. Sometimes it’s good then to get my cage rattled because it brings out the best in me.”

The Raiders brought in Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler entering his 15th season, to be a bridge rather than hand the offense directly to a rookie. Cousins is playing for a guaranteed $20 million, though his former club, Atlanta, is responsible for $8.7 million of that.

Las Vegas drafted Mendoza first overall after he won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to a highly unlikely national championship. The hope is he will help deliver the Raiders, who haven't won a playoff game in more than two decades, back to contention.

For his part, Mendoza is still adjusting to NFL life, learning to take snaps under center and the footwork adjustments that come with that. He struggled during much of OTAs and minicamp, his passes often nowhere close to on target.

That wasn't the case so far in training camp. Mendoza was not only on point, he completed some tight-window passes.

“I love the mindset that he has,” Kubiak said. "That’s what all of our players should have. Nobody has arrived, especially a rookie quarterback.”

Mendoza would not argue, saying sometimes a play he feels good about on the practice field looks a lot different when reviewing the video, that he's had to get used to the fact the margins are a lot smaller than in college.

“When it was rookie minicamp and OTAs, it happens very quick,” Mendoza said. "However, now in training camp, I truly feel like a member of the team rather than a new rookie on the scene.”

That was evident on Thursday in just his second camp practice during a seven-on-seven drill. Before the snap, Mendoza signaled to ninth-year wide receiver Phillip Dorsett II to move to his left. Dorsett indeed moved over and then Mendoza hit him in stride with the throw.

When asked later about taking such command of the offense, Mendoza deflected the praise.

“There’s a lot of times that the offensive line would correct me,” Mendoza said. “The running backs, tight ends, receivers, they would help put me in place. It’s that relationship that we have, that dynamic relationship where we can hold each other accountable.”

That kind of answer likely sits well in the locker room. Rather than expecting to be handed the job as the top draft pick, Mendoza has shown he is willing to work for it.

“Every day, he’s trying to get better,” fourth-year wide receiver Tre Tucker said. "I’m watching him in meetings and he’s listening, taking the corrections. Those are the type of things that you want to see from a guy like him, and he has a very bright future.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) speaks during a news conference at the team's NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) speaks during a news conference at the team's NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) looks to pass during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) looks to pass during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs through a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Henderson, Nev. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — When Alli Schroder first saw “A League of Their Own” — a 1992 movie based on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League — she saw herself in the story on the screen.

“It was kind of motivating as a kid to watch it because even though there wasn’t a platform for us to play professional baseball when I was growing up, playing Little League and youth baseball, like there was a vision that there could be,” Schroder said. “And we’re here now.”

They sure are.

The inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League begins on Saturday — weather permitting, with rain in the forecast — when Denae Benites and the New York Heights face Mo’ne Davis and the Los Angeles Queens. The other two teams in the league — the Boston Hunters and San Francisco Firebells — play on Sunday.

Each team will have 15 active players for the seven-inning games. The 15 regular-season games for each club and the playoffs will be held at Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium, a historic ballpark that has a seating capacity of 5,200 and opened in 1925.

“What excites me most is having the chance to compete against players who have been my teammate, as well as Team USA players, and other athletes I’ve always considered rivals,” Japanese right-hander Ayami Sato, one of New York's top pitchers, said Friday through a translator. “Being able to play against them in this league is something I’ve been really looking forward to.”

The opening weekend of the WPBL marks another major moment in a scattered history for women's professional baseball in the United States. The AAGPBL, which ran from 1943-54, was the first professional women’s league in the U.S. There were at least two attempts to start a league in the 1990s, but each one was short-lived.

The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who became the first woman to coach for an MLB team with the Athletics in 2015. And its players, taking the field in an era of unprecedented popularity for women's sports, have big dreams.

“We want to make this thing last forever and ever,” Los Angeles infielder Ashton Lansdell said. “We want this to become the MLB of women’s baseball.”

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports

FILE - Kelsie Whitmore pitches during a Women's Pro Baseball League practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

FILE - Mo'ne Davis watches her hit during a Women's Pro Baseball League exhibition game, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

FILE - Ayami Sato pitches during a Women's Pro Baseball League exhibition game, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)