Kirk Cousins’ time in Las Vegas has run out.No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is taking over as Las Vegas’ starting QB after the Raiders traded Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 third-round pick ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.Kirk Cousins is returning to Minnesota to help the lowly Vikings offenseGettyA 3-0 start has been replaced by a 1-5 slide, while Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has more free time after dropping his professional football attachment to Birmingham City.With the Raiders (4-5) preparing for another tough game against the Seattle Seahawks, Mendoza recently discussed his opinion of the 38-year-old Cousins.An interesting comparison followed involving Star Wars, Yoda and the power of The Force. “I love Star Wars,” Mendoza told The Athletic, while playing on a $57 million rookie contract. “I think it’s like (Cousins is) Master Yoda out there, and I’m trying to get all the information from him. He’s playing at an MVP-caliber level, and him being so receptive to me, and answering all my questions, and looking out for me is super special. He’s stuck his neck out for me and really helped me along the way.”Cousins is not truly playing at an MVP-caliber level, as Mendoza suggests.The 15-year pro is coming off a rough outing during a 38-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which saw Cousins throw three interceptions and post a 58.9 passer rating.The Raiders have stated several times that they’re in no rush to start Mendoza, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft after a perfect championship season at Indiana.But during a press conference on Tuesday, Raiders GM John Spytek said Mendoza “passed every test”, and will make his first career start on Sunday at home against the reigning Super Bowl champions.“It’s something that he’s worked very hard for since the moment he walked into this building,” Spytek said of Mendoza. “I want to stop short of saying he’s earned it, but he put us in a position where we had to make a really hard decision today, with his growth as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, as a quarterback.”The Raiders will be starting rookie MendozaGettyIt’s been a while since Mendoza won a football gameGettyCousins ranks fifth in the NFL this season in passing yards (2,340) but he’s thrown eight interceptions and is 12th in QB rating (62.8).Still, the veteran QB has played well enough for the Raiders to be above .500.He joins a 6-2 Vikings team coming off the back of a dismal Monday Night Football showing against the Buffalo Bills.Carson Wentz – who was starting in place of an injured Kyler Murray – had a historically bad performance.In the 23-6 defeat, the 33-year-old completed just eight of his 25 pass attempts for 81 yards and two interceptions, which earned him a lowly 8.9 quarterback rating.It’s a homecoming of sorts for the 38-year-old Cousins, who was the Vikings’ star quarterback from 2018 until 2023, and has earned more than $333m during his career.Mendoza has barely taken the field in 2026, completing 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards in mop-up duty.“I’ve seen quarterbacks get fast-tracked onto the field and they may do well, but they don’t learn all the intricacies of footwork and everything else it takes,” Davis said.“So they’re limited in their development, maybe throughout their career. I’m really happy with the way it is with Fernando right now, and we’ll see what happens.”The Raiders’ next three games are against tough defenses (Seattle, Denver, Cleveland).Mendoza has spent this season learning from Master Yoda, now the young Padawan must put it into practice.Sign up for talkSPORT Stateside, the YouTube channel dedicated to passionate.US Sports fans. Will Gavin, Brian T. Smith, former NFL star Efe Obada and a collection of special guests debate the biggest talking points across the NFL, soccer, NBA and more.