VEGAS SPORTS REPORT: Tom Brady’s Influence Shapes Raiders’ Kirk Cousins Decision

According to Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak, Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, now a minority owner of the Raiders, has played a major role in shaping the team on the eve of a new season, including his decision Wednesday (Sept. 2) to name Kirk Cousins as his starting quarterback.

“We lean on him for a lot of things,” said Kubiak. “I talk to him multiple times per week, and he’s been extremely helpful for roster building, schematics, and team building. You name it. Just an extremely impressive resource.”

The decision to go with Cousins, over No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza, wasn’t a surprise, since the Raiders signed the 15-year veteran as a free agent for the purposes of mentoring Mendoza.

Brady Shapes Raiders Decisions

The Raiders open the National Football League (NFL) season Sept. 13 at home against the Miami Dolphins.

Over his career with four different teams, including the Raiders, Cousins has thrown for 44,700 passing yards and 298 touchdowns, with a 96.8 quarterback rating, generally considered above league average but short of elite.

“He just played really good football,” said Kubiak. “I’m really happy with all three of our quarterbacks (Aidan O’Connell sits third on the team’s depth chart, after Mendoza). Kirk’s had a really good off-season, a very good camp, and he’s earned it.”

Cousins Earns Starting Job

For Mendoza, the priority is to keep developing and learning by taking first-team snaps in practice, which he did Wednesday (Sept. 2) after the coaches gave Cousins a day off.

“There’s early work, late work, more meetings, plenty of time on the field between drills with coach Sullivan (Mike Sullivan, quarterbacks coach) and coach Janocko (Andrew Janocko, offensive coordinator),” said Kubiak. “We’re just trying to find every edge we can to continue to get him better and his teammates better.”

Mendoza was on the field for all three Raiders’ preseason games and overall went 15-for-29 for 143 yards passing, two interceptions and zero touchdowns, for a 37.0 RTG.

Mendoza Continues His Development

As Kubiak added, though, having a No. 1 draft pick in camp, getting first-team snaps in practice, and playing in preseason games impacted Cousins and made him play better.

The other significant piece of news that came out of the Raiders’ camp Wednesday (Sept. 2) was Kubiak telling reporters that running back Ashton Jeanty is “on the mend” after an ankle injury, and that he is optimistic he will play against Miami.

Rebels Seeks Hawaii Rebound

UNLV is looking to even their record this weekend in a Mountain West conference game against Hawaii, after opening their NCAA college football season with a 27-21 loss to Memphis on Aug. 29.

UNLV plays at Hawaii this Saturday (Sept. 5) at 10:10pm EST. 

The Rebels entered Dan Mullen’s second season with expectations of contending for the Mountain West title, but surrendered 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points and converted only three of 15 third downs.

New quarterback Jackson Arnold was sacked six times. Still, Arnold, an Auburn transfer, was one of the bright spots, throwing for 291 yards and two touchdowns while adding 54 rushing yards and another score. 

UNLV now faces a 0-1 Hawaii team. It’s an important early test of whether the Rebels can correct their pass-protection, rushing and red-zone problems. 

Aces Absorb Major Injury

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is into its World Cup break, running through Sept. 16. 

The Las Vegas Aces return to action Sept. 17 when they visit the Seattle Storm.

For the next few weeks, it’s a good chance for coaches to assess a team that sits third overall in the league, at 27-13, having clinched a playoff berth with four games left to play.

NaLyssa Smith is out for the season. The starting forward, who was averaging 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds, leading the WNBA in field goal percentage (63.8%), suffered a left leg injury against Toronto. 

The Aces signed 6-foot-7 center Kalani Brown shortly after Smith’s diagnosis, giving the Aces more size and another interior option going into the playoffs.

A’ja Wilson was named Western Conference Player of the Month for August, after averaging 25 points and 8.8 rebounds over 11 games, leading Las Vegas on a three-game winning streak before the break started Aug. 31.