Contract drama is finally in the rearview. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza officially signed his fully guaranteed four-year rookie contract with the Raiders, ending the final piece of business before training camp.

Under the guidance of HC Klint Kubiak, the Raiders locked Mendoza into a fully guaranteed four-year, $57.27 million rookie deal. The contract allows Mendoza to have an average annual salary of $14.32 million through the 2029 season and includes a fifth-year team option.

The Raiders posted on their official account a few images of Mendoza with a caption confirming his signing and his jersey number.

"The wait 15 over. #RaiderNation," wrote the Raiders' X account.

Mendoza's signing officially ends any lingering contract uncertainty, allowing the rookie to focus entirely on learning the offense and preparing for his first NFL training camp.

"I’m so excited to be a part of the family," said Mendoza on another Raiders X post on July 23. "Can’t wait to get to work. I’m really excited. Thank you guys again for this, all the support.”

While the No. 1 overall pick is now officially under contract, veteran Kirk Cousins remains the favorite to open the season as Las Vegas' starting quarterback as Mendoza begins his rookie development.

“I think in a perfect world, he’s watching a mature adult go and run an offense and run the team," Kubiak said back in March per Pro Football Talk. "But the situation is, you might have that player, you might not have that veteran to show him the way.”

The Raiders front office has expressed that while they want Mendoza to sit and observe this season, they also want him to learn as much as possible from Cousins so he can take over as the starter next season.

Interestingly, he is already making progress as he enters the Raiders' training camp.

Fernando Mendoza determined to soak up every bit of knowledge

The rookie appears to be wasting no time immersing himself in Raiders culture as he enters training camp carrying lofty expectations, but he knows nothing will be handed to him. For Mendoza, every role has to be learned through competition.

“As a quarterback you need to be, essentially, all-knowing of the offense for your teammates to have confidence in you when you step out on that field,” said Mendoza in his conversation with Paul Gutierrez of Raiders.com on Friday, the most recent episode of Upon Further Review.

Mendoza said having experienced coaches and veteran quarterbacks around him gives him every opportunity to accelerate his development during camp.

“I have such great resources of information, whether it be the coaches, my teammates, especially in the quarterback room. It's basically all in the palm of my hand, and I just need to take advantage of it,” said Mendoza.

What are your thoughts on Fernando Mendoza's signing with the Raiders? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Rudra Dubey