Indiana football’s last two starting quarterbacks will be with NFL teams this season.
After being drafted No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders, Fernando Mendoza is of course going to be on the roster. The only question was whether he’d be the starter or the backup. The Raiders are sticking with their plan to have Mendoza begin the season as a backup to Kirk Cousins, CBS Sports is reporting.
Over the preseason, Mendoza completed 25 of his 45 passes (55.6%) for 240 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Cousins, 38, is entering his 15th season in the NFL. He’s started 167 regular-season games over that stretch.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers made their decision at QB3 on Saturday. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the 49ers are releasing Adrian Martinez and going with Kurtis Rourke as their number three quarterback behind Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.
After missing the entire 2025 season rehabbing a knee injury, Rourke looked good in the 49ers’ preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans, finishing 12 for 14 for 101 yards. He suffered three broken ribs on a goal-line play in that game and was taken to the hospital after experiencing trouble breathing. He’s expected to be ready for the start of the season.
It’s not clear yet whether Rourke will make the 53-man roster or be on the practice squad.
The NFL roster cut deadline for all 32 teams to finalize their initial 53-man active rosters is Sunday, August 30, at 6:00 p.m. ET.
We’ll update the status of all Hoosiers attempting to make an NFL team.
