Raiders Suspend Cousins and Crosby after Practice Altercation

In Henderson, Nevada, an unexpected clash unfolded during the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice on Saturday. Quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive end Maxx Crosby were sidelined for team drills following a dispute during the previous day’s session. This situation provided rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza a chance to lead the starting offense for the first time in training camp.

Coach Klint Kubiak expressed the team’s standards clearly. He stated, “We have very clear expectations about how we want to practice, how you go about our business. We violated that yesterday, so we held those guys out. That’s all I’m going to say about it. We addressed it with the team and we’re moving on.”

The incident occurred when Cousins, upset over Crosby tipping a pass resulting in an incompletion, charged at the defensive end. At 37 years old, Cousins faced the significantly larger 6’5″, 256-pound Crosby, who outweighs him by 42 pounds.

The team has a break scheduled for Sunday, with practice resuming Monday morning. Kubiak aims for Cousins and Crosby to avoid further altercations when they meet again on the field. In the interim, Mendoza took advantage of Cousins’ absence to showcase his abilities.

Rookie Quarterback Mendoza’s Performance

During the team’s practice, Mendoza demonstrated his potential by delivering touchdown passes to tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, as well as wide receiver Tre Tucker. Despite encountering some errors against the first-team defense, Mendoza displayed agility and precision under pressure.

Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan conveyed contentment with Mendoza’s growth, citing significant development from spring to the start of camp. “Fernando continues to improve, and the thing I think we’re very pleased about is from spring to the start of camp, there were some parts of this game we wanted him to improve upon and he has as we’ve added different layers and dimensions,” Sullivan noted.

Kubiak has stated that Mendoza, anticipated as the franchise quarterback, would lead the first-team offense during camp. With the preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Mendoza has an opportunity to shine. Although Kubiak has not revealed his strategy for quarterback deployment, Mendoza is expected to see action early and could possibly start. Cousins is likely to lead when the season begins, but no definitive commitments have been made.

“The visual and verbal communication he’s made, certainly the ability to take snaps under center, those are things we’ve seen him improve upon,” Sullivan mentioned, noting Mendoza’s progress.

Injury Updates

On the injury front, wide receiver Jalen Nailor returned to practice after a one-day absence due to an unspecified issue. Conversely, defensive ends Kwity Paye, Keyron Crawford, and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. remain sidelined. Caleb Rogers, competing with Jackson Powers-Johnson at right guard, appeared to injure his left arm or elbow but resumed practice.

Rogers commented briefly on his return, stating, “I feel great,” without providing further details.