Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins rejected the notion that he's in Las Vegas to mentor No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, instead suggesting it's more of a collective approach in the QB room.
"[It's] more of a narrative than it is the truth," Cousins said of the mentor discussion, . "They're pretty good players, pretty experienced, and I'm learning a lot from them, too, and asking questions to them.
"Nobody's leading more than someone else. I think we're all a working force together, helping each other, giving feedback, giving perspective [and] giving another set of eyes."
Cousins added that it's "a bit of a reach" to call him Mendoza's mentor, as all the QBs are working to get better each day to improve the football team.
The 37-year-old quarterback can downplay his role in Mendoza's development. That's his prerogative. However, it's obvious that a player with 14 years of NFL experience, including 167 starts, who has played in a Kubiak-style offense, would have more experience than a rookie still getting used to taking snaps from under center. That knowledge will be passed down in one form or another.
After the debacle that was his experience in Atlanta the past two seasons with Michael Penix Jr., perhaps Cousins is simply wary of titles and how those stories can spiral. The veteran QB would rather focus on the collective.
"I've always felt I prepare my best during the season when we can all kind of be together in that room in the evening, going over things together rather than working in our own," Cousins said. "I think when we can kind of all be given feedback on each other, that's when I think the best ideas come out."
Mendoza said he's already learned a lot from Cousins and Aidan O'Connell.
"We've all come together and have combined our experiences, whether it's from an experienced mind, a naive mind, [or] Aidan's mind, who's a little bit of a mix," Mendoza said.
While Cousins is in a QB room with yet another first-round rookie, this situation is vastly different from the one he left in Atlanta. There he was taken by surprise when the Falcons drafted Penix after giving him a $100 million contract. In Vegas, everyone knew Mendoza was coming to town. Cousins signed knowing full well he was a bridge, one that would be as long or short as the rookie needed.
