Raiders’ Kirk Cousins, Maxx Crosby held out of practice after violating team rules for fighting, Klint Kubiak says

By Andy Backstrom

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak is in the process of establishing a culture in his first year at the helm. That comes with a standard he wants everyone to meet. Kubiak made it clear Saturday there are no exceptions.

“We have very clear expectations on how we want to practice and how we want to go about our business, and we violated that yesterday,” Kubiak told reporters, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden.

Because of the training camp scuffle Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby got into on Friday, the team’s first-string quarterback and star pass rusher were both held out of practice the following day.

Kubiak said they will participate again on Monday, per McFadden.

No punches were thrown, according to the Post’s report. That said, the moment, which embroiled two of the rebuilding Raiders’ most notable players, still struck Kubiak, who said after practice that while boiling tensions are part of camp, his players need to be disciplined in those situations when the games roll around.

“Those are two leaders on our team going at it,” Kubiak said Friday, per ESPN.

“Obviously, fighting in a game [or] you throw a punch in a game, you are out of the game. So we got to be smart.”

Just as Kubiak made an example out of Cousins and Crosby on Saturday, though, it’s important to mention that Cousins seems to have set one as well. After all, the 15th-year QB, who will turn 38 later this month, stood up to arguably the Raiders’ most imposing player.

“That’s our starting quarterback right now, and you want him to defend your team,” Las Vegas tight end Michael Mayer said on Friday, according to the Post. “You want him to have some edge to him, which he does.”

That’s something Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, surely will take note of, and it’s the kind of snarl Crosby might appreciate in retrospect.

As for the punishment, Crosby’s already on record this offseason saying he respects how Kubiak treats every player the same.

“If you just talk to him, he’s monotone, he’s super calm, everything’s super chill, but he’s all about ball,” Crosby said on “Ball In The Family Podcast.”

“He keeps it black and white. He don’t give a f*** who he’s calling out. If we’re in a meeting, he’ll call me out just like he’ll call the practice squad guy out. And that’s something I appreciate.”

Crosby added: “Being coached hard, especially from a young age, you want that, and you know it sucks in the moment, but ultimately that’s gonna get the best version of yourself. So he’s been clear about that since Day 1.”

In Cousins’ absence, Fernando Mendoza takes first reps with first-team offense

With Cousins out, Mendoza reportedly piloted the first-string offense on Saturday. That was an NFL first for the 22-year-old, who’s coming off a national championship and Heisman Trophy campaign at Indiana.

Although Cousins was named the Raiders’ starting QB last month, Mendoza is expected to receive the keys to the offense eventually. Kubiak pointed out in OTAs that he’s “as advertised,” with the first-year head coach touting Mendoza’s malleability.

Mendoza got off to a bit of a slow start in Saturday’s practice, according to The Athletic’s Sam Warren, but improved along the way and was responsible for a few touchdowns in red-zone and goal-line work.

Additionally, as reported by ESPN’s McFadden, Mendoza strung together five consecutive completions to position the Raiders for a field goal amid a two-minute period at the end of practice.