Kirk Cousins to Remain Raiders' QB1 vs. Jets Amid Benching Buzz, HC Talks Fernando Mendoza Timeline

There may be a quarterback switch down the line for the Las Vegas Raiders, but it isn't happening in the immediate future.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters Monday that Kirk Cousins will remain the team's starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the New York Jets, adding "there is no controversy" with No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza waiting in the wings.

"Eventually, Fernando will play football," Kubiak said . "He's going to play at some point. It's not going to be this week."

Cousins' role as the team's starting quarterback made sense and wasn't truly in question when the Raiders started 3-0 and looked like a potential surprise contender in the AFC West. However, they have now lost four in a row and are trending in the wrong direction.

If the losses continue to pile up, Las Vegas could shift its attention toward the future.

And that would clearly open the door for Mendoza, who the team took with the No. 1 overall pick to eventually be the long-term franchise quarterback, to start getting real game experience as a rookie.

Cousins surely knows that, and he addressed the situation following the most recent loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

"It's really the same every day that it was in March or April," he told reporters. "I mean, nothing changes in the sense that if I'm not the best option then I don't want to be out there, either. I want our football team to have the best chance to win games, and if [in] the first OTA if that had become apparent, I would have been the first one to say, 'Yeah, you can't play me.'

"So nothing changes, you know, and the organization will do what they feel is best. I feel that, you know, Fernando's done a great job and has a great future ahead, and I try to go out there and play as well as I possibly can to help us win and give him a great example to learn from, until he does go out there eventually."

The upcoming game against the Jets could be a turning point, as a win would put the Raiders back into the AFC playoff picture while a loss could turn into a much longer slide since the following four contests are against teams above .500 in the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns.

For now, Cousins will remain the Raiders' starting quarterback.

But another loss to the Jets will only dial up the speculation until the team makes a change.