Geno Smith and Pete Carroll aren’t the only ones who recently updated their LinkedIn.
On Thursday, April 23, theLas Vegas Raidersselected 2025 Heisman Award-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first pick and kick-started a new era for the sputtering franchise.
After four consecutive losing seasons — the last time the club finished a campaign above .500 was in 2021 when they went 10-7 — new head coach Klint Kubiak will try to turn things around with his blue-chip rookie quarterback.
They will have their work cut out for them, though.
Although they finished 2025 with a lowly 3-14 record, they still have the seventh-most difficult schedule of any NFL team in 2026 due to the strength of the AFC West,according to Yahoo Sports.
That means the revamped squad will go head-to-head with powerhouse franchises like Patrick Mahomes’Kansas City Chiefs(Oct. 4), Josh Allen’sBuffalo Bills(Oct. 18), Matthew Stafford’sLos Angeles Rams(Oct. 25), Sam Darnold’s Super Bowl-winningSeattle Seahawks(Nov. 15) and Bo Nix’sDenver Broncos(Dec. 20) at their home Allegiant Stadium this coming season.
To make sure they’re prepared, general manager John Spytek retained star defensive end Maxx Crosby (after a botched trade) and brought in splashy center Tyler Linderbaum to protect Mendoza along with sack-happy defensive end Kwity Paye and battle-tested linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker.
Standout tight end Brock Bowers, underrated left tackle Kolton Miller and breakout running back Ashton Jeanty will all return as well.
If you want to get down to “The Death Star” and see if the Men In Black have what it takes (possibly from the Black Hole if you’re a real one),tickets are available for all eight 2026 home games at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadiumas of today on SeatGeek.
SeatGeek is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
