Kubiak Says Raiders Weighing QB Switch to Fernando Mendoza

Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said Saturday that the team is weighing a quarterback change, including a possible move to Fernando Mendoza, as the club works through a four-game losing streak, according to ESPN.

What did Kubiak say about a quarterback change?

Kubiak's phrase, delivered to reporters in Las Vegas and relayed by ESPN NFL Nation reporter Ryan McFadden, was direct: "We're thinking about everything." ESPN reported that Kubiak said the team is evaluating every option, including looking toward the future at the position, as the losing streak reaches four games. The outlet did not report a timeline for a decision, and Kubiak's comments, as quoted by ESPN, stopped short of committing to a switch or ruling one out.

The framing matters for how NFL teams typically operate in-season. Coaches rarely announce quarterback changes outright during a losing streak unless an injury forces the issue; more often, as Kubiak's answer suggests, they describe an open evaluation that can run through a full week of practice before a decision is final. ESPN's report captured that posture without specifying when the Raiders expect to resolve it.

Why is Fernando Mendoza the name attached to this story?

ESPN's own coverage ties the quarterback-change question directly to Mendoza, publishing the story under the headline "Kubiak on switching to Mendoza: 'Thinking about everything.'" The same ESPN NFL Nation beat also published a separate piece — cited in the network's related coverage — describing how Mendoza is "representing all the Hispanic NFL players before him," a signal of the broader attention on his profile beyond the Raiders' win-loss record.

The source material does not include Mendoza's statistics, draft background, or snap counts to date, so those figures are omitted here rather than estimated. What is established, per ESPN, is that Mendoza is the alternative Kubiak's comments were specifically asked about, which is why the coach's answer was read as an opening rather than a dismissal.

How bad has the Raiders' four-game skid been?

ESPN's report frames the quarterback discussion as happening "amid a four-game losing streak," which is the extent of the record detail provided in the source material. The outlet did not publish the opponents, scores, or point differentials for those four games in the portion of the story available, so this piece does not estimate them. What the streak establishes, in the data-desk sense, is the trigger: four straight losses is the threshold at which Kubiak was asked directly about benching his starter, and it is the number he did not dispute when the question was put to him.

What happens next for the Raiders at quarterback?

ESPN has not reported a specific date for a decision. Teams in Kubiak's position typically work through a Monday-to-Wednesday practice window before naming a starter for the following Sunday, a standard NFL scheduling pattern rather than a Raiders-specific detail reported by ESPN. Whether that timeline applies here was not addressed in the available source material.

What to watch

• Whether Kubiak names a starter during the Raiders' next practice week, per subsequent ESPN NFL Nation coverage of the team.
• Any snap-count or depth-chart change involving Mendoza in practice reports from the Raiders beat.
• Whether the Raiders' next game result extends the losing streak past four games, which would sharpen the pressure Kubiak's comments already reflect.
• Follow-up reporting from ESPN's Ryan McFadden, who has covered the story and the related piece on Mendoza's standing among Hispanic NFL quarterbacks.

The limited detail in ESPN's report — a coach's open-ended answer rather than a confirmed roster move — is itself the news. Kubiak did not say Mendoza would start. He also did not say he would not.

When exactly did Kubiak make these comments?

ESPN datestamped the report 10:19 p.m. ET on Oct. 25, 2026, filed from Las Vegas, according to the byline information published with the story. The reporter, Ryan McFadden, covers the Raiders for ESPN's NFL Nation and previously covered the Denver Broncos for The Denver Post and the Baltimore Ravens and University of Maryland athletics for The Baltimore Sun, per his ESPN author bio attached to the piece. That reporting history places McFadden as the beat writer with direct access to Kubiak's remarks, which is why ESPN's framing — a coach's open answer rather than a roster announcement — carries the weight it does in the absence of a team statement or injury report confirming any change at quarterback.