Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield

Thursday, April 2, 7:43 AM

The Las Vegas Raiders have signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a contract that is essentially a one-year deal with $20 million guaranteed, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The contract is technically for five years and $172 million, but the latter four years will be voided, such that Cousins gets $8.7 million from the Falcons this year, $1.3 million from the Raiders this year, and a $10 million roster bonus from the Raiders on the third day of the 2027 league year. The move is certainly an interesting one for the Raiders, who have the No. 1 pick and are projected to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Head coach Klint Kubiak recently said that in an ideal world, every rookie quarterback would sit on the bench for a few weeks, learning from a veteran. The signing of Cousins indicates that perhaps the Raiders will let Cousins start Week 1 while mentoring Mendoza, before the rookie eventually takes over as the starter midseason. That makes both quarterbacks difficult to trust in redraft leagues. The good news is that both Cousins and Mendoza should be able to support strong fantasy campaigns from Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers.