Shanna McCarriston#10 of 87 NFL pundits · Aug 28, 2026

Unsigned piece leans toward veteran Kirk Cousins winning the Raiders' quarterback competition over rookie No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, arguing Cousins hasn't played poorly enough to lose the job and Mendoza hasn't done enough to leapfrog them.

Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original

Waitinggraded once the result is in

What Shanna McCarriston said

Cousins hasn't struggled enough to hand the rookie the job, and the No. 1 pick hasn't excelled enough to make an obvious leap ahead.

Our reading: Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart

Where it was published: CBS Sports
The piece: Raiders' Klint Kubiak still won't name Week 1 QB starter, here's why all signs point to Kirk Cousins
The original: Read the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

How the call scored

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.

Where this call stands in the room

Kirk Cousins · 2026 season

Shanna McCarriston — 1the room — 64 calls from 48 punditsmedian 1

Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.

Their call against the room

1They said

1The room (48 pundits)

Their call against everyone else's, while this is still unsettled.

Depth Chart Calls Kirk Cousins Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
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Others on the same people

Logan Lazarczyk · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick.
Logan Lazarczyk · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Lazarczyk expects the Raiders to be sellers before the trade deadline, suggesting Kirk Cousins could be dealt back to the Vikings and that benched interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson is a prime candidate to be traded somewhere.
Tom Pelissero · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Pelissero laid out the Giants' quarterback situation with Jameis Winston starting, said Jayden Daniels likely won't be back when Washington plays the Giants and that Caleb Williams is unlikely to play Monday night, and floated Joey Porter Jr. landing in Dallas and Kirk Cousins being traded in-season.
Tom Pelissero · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Pelissero expects the Raiders to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall, and says Kirk Cousins will be released March 11 while Tua Tagovailoa will be released before March 13 if Miami can't trade them.
Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders and to be thrown into the starting lineup immediately, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta within weeks.
Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Raiders, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta.

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