Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek didn’t discuss the potential of a trade with Kirk Cousins until Tuesday morning.

Because until Tuesday morning, there was no potential.

But Spytek and Raiders coach Klint Kubiak were presented with an offer from the Minnesota Vikings, prompting a conversation with their starting quarterback.

“We both felt like it was important that he had say in it, too,” Spytek said, seated beside Kubiak at Intermountain Health Performance Center.

“We kind of presented him with what he had on the table and we tried to make the best decision. I think we owed him that respect.”

Out goes Cousins from the Raiders offense — in exchange for Minnesota’s third-round draft pick next year — and in goes rookie Fernando Mendoza, the top draft pick whose performances in practice were harder and harder to ignore. He’ll make his first NFL start Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium.

The future is the present now for the Raiders.

The model mentor for Mendoza in his 15th season at age 38, Cousins concludes his eight-month tenure in Las Vegas with 2,340 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He leaves the 23-year-old with a better understanding of “work habits, preparation, ways to take care of your body, ways to connect with your teammates, progressions, blitzes to expect, things to expect from coordinators. We can go on and on but there’s a lot more to playing the position than just what your coaches tell you in the meeting room. I think Kirk embodied all the right things there,” Kubiak explained.

The Raiders, Cousins and Mendoza knew the transition was bound to happen someday as part of the plan they formulated when they wound up with the No. 1. pick. Cousins was signed as a veteran stopgap, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who played under Kubiak in Minnesota from 2019 to 2021.

The structure of the contract signed by Cousins turned it in essence to a one-year deal — with a $10 million roster bonus guaranteed and owed to him by the Vikings now instead of the Raiders — and made it unlikely he’d play next season for Las Vegas. The Raiders signed him to lead their offense but also to leave an impression on Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy last year while leading Indiana to the national title.

Las Vegas fell Sunday to 4-5 after a 38-17 loss Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers, their fifth setback in six games. They Raiders are technically in playoff contention — positioned a game (and tiebreaker) behind the New England Patriots for the AFC’s seventh seed — but the NFL’s Tuesday trade deadline and Minnesota’s offer forced their hand.

“We had a plan that we talked about at length, starting with (Mendoza’s draft process) interview,” Spytek said. “It led us all the way up to today. It was really to play Kirk until something changed. It could’ve been the level of play, the team, Fernando. All those things went into it. All of a sudden you wake up in the morning and you’ve got a decision to make and you’ve got six hours to do it.

“We made what we felt like was the best decision for the Raiders moving forward.”

Cousins kept Mendoza on the sideline with his poise, polish and command of the offense, demonstrated during training camp with a decade-and-a-half’s worth of rhythm and feel. Mendoza has a bigger frame, stronger arm and fleeter feet — traits that should help him find his footing as he gains experience the next eight games.

Whenever he’s asked about Mendoza, Kubiak raves about his drive and focus and noted Tuesday “he’s exceeded expectations” during practices.

“Live-bullet Sunday is far different from practice,” Kubiak said. “However, he’s showed us that he’s ready not only physically but mentally.

“He puts a lot of work in. His teammates know how prepared he is. It’s not just lip service. He’s shown it on the practice field.”

Among the improvements Mendoza has showed in practice, per Kubiak: accuracy, command of the offense, efficiency in huddles, execution of two-minute drills and understanding of situational football.

“Our expectation is for him to lead the offense. To lead the operation,” Kubiak added.

“We have to prepare him and give him a lot of reps and get him comfortable.”

Mendoza has a drive on his ledger this season, a 6-of-8 showing for 48 yards in the fourth quarter of a 45-17 road loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 11. Of the 29 quarterbacks picked No. 1 in the common era of the NFL draft, three have waited longer than Mendoza to start: Vinny Testaverde (12th game), JaMarcus Russell (16th game) and Carson Palmer (first game of second season).

Eli Manning and Jared Goff also started Week 10 of their rookie season.

“We had to make a hard decision,” Spytek said. “We all kind of stared at the future in the face here with Fernando and Kirk’s been very open with that … and we had to basically decide — do we want to go for it over the last eight games or do we want to take what Minnesota is offering right now? Ultimately, we decided to that.”

It’s on to the Seahawks — and on to Mendoza.

“We knew this day was coming,” Kubiak said.

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.