Seattle Seahawks prep for No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza's debut start
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 25: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Las Vegas Raiders warms up against the Los Angeles Rams at Allegiant Stadium on October 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Rams defeated the Raiders 35-21. (Candice Ward / Getty Images)
RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks will be the defense to welcome No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza into the NFL as he makes his first career start for the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to a National Championship last season has assumed the starting job for the Raiders after they dealt Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline. Mendoza has played just 10 plays since the start of the season for Las Vegas, throwing just one incomplete pass in mop-up duty in a 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots last month.
So while the Seahawks can reference preseason tape or even turn to their scouting reports from last year's draft class, it will be a bit of an unknown this week in Las Vegas.
"You can’t put all your eggs in one basket on what’s going to happen or how you think the quarterback is going to play. It wouldn’t be wise," head coach Mike Macdonald said. "Obviously, we are going to watch his plays and lean on our information we had from coming out of the draft process and put our best foot forward. We’re focusing on our details and making sure that we are aligned and on the same page, executing at a high level and then go into the game and make the best adjustments that we can as the game starts to unfold."
The backstory:
Cousins started the first nine games of the season for the Raiders, throwing for 2,340 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions while posting a 4-5 record. However, Mendoza was always going to get his shot to lead the team after being the top overall pick in the 2026 draft.
The Vikings desperately needed quarterback help after dropping their last two games following a 6-0 start to their year. Their defense is arguably the best in the NFL this season and the play of Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer has not been sufficient for a team looking to make a run. Cousins spent six years with the Vikings from 2018-2023 and gets to return to a familiar location.
The trade passes the job in Las Vegas off to Mendoza, who threw for 3,535 yards with 41 touchdowns and six interceptions in his lone season with Indiana. The Hoosiers went undefeated, claiming their first National Championship in football with a 27-21 victory over the Miami Hurricanes.
"He’s a really good player, and he’s going to have a great career," Macdonald said. "You can tell that by the information we had coming out. He’s got a great skill set. We’ll focus on us and making sure that we are playing our brand of ball and try to apply as much pressure as we can on their offense."
The last two quarterbacks to make their first starts against Seattle were Brosmer with the Vikings last year, and Bo Nix with the Denver Broncos in 2024. Neither player performed particularly well in their debuts.
The Seahawks terrorized Brosmer into four interceptions and four sacks as he completed just 19-of-30 passes for 126 yards in a 26-0 shutout. Nix was 26-of-42 for 138 yards with two interceptions in a 26-20 loss to Seattle in Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Neither Brosmer or Nix were a No. 1 overall pick, however.
Mendoza is playing under former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who became Raiders head coach after Seattle won the Super Bowl in February. While much of the offense the Seahawks will face has roots in what Kubiak did while in Seattle, Macdonald said they're evolving the system as well.
"They’re building it around the people that they have and they’re doing it at a high level," Macdonald said. "I respect how they operate, obviously, and they have great people and good players. They’re moving the ball and putting up a lot of points."
Injury Updates:
The Seahawks had a lighter practice on Wednesday, which Macdonald said would allow some players to do a bit more.
"We’re not going full speed today, so a lot of those (injured) guys will have the opportunities to take reps today, and then we will see tomorrow," he said. "We haven’t ruled anybody out yet, nor have we ruled anybody in yet, but good news on a lot of those guys."
Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed returned to full participation in practice after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu returned to limited participation after missing the last two games as well.
Quarterback Drew Lock is going to be on a similar practice plan this week where his throwing is limited due to injuries to his right elbow and oblique.
"Drew’s been making good progress," Macdonald said. "We have a plan and similar to last week, we will go from there. He’s not going to take every rep, and he’s not going to make every throw again. That’s just trying to be as prudent as possible with the process to make sure that he is feeling his best on Sunday."
Quarterback Sam Darnold, left tackle Charles Cross and guard Quenton Nelson were among the players who did not participate on Wednesday.
Injury Report:
The Source: Information in this story comes from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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