Nothing Like Dome: Raiders Give Fans Taste Of 2026 Team With Practice Inside Allegiant Stadium Tuesday
Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — They come and go like residency performers on the Strip, the head coaches and quarterbacks of the Las Vegas Raiders si9nce the team relocated from Oakland to Sin City.
But when you see coach Klint Kubiak’s stern seriousness spiced with a wry sense of humor and 22-year-old quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s unbridled enthusiasm to learn the most important position in the NFL, there’s a palpable sense the Raiders are poised to pivot from the league’s worst record.
The team moved its practice from the grass of Henderson at the Raiders HQ to the grassy tray of Allegiant Stadium a mere two days before the Raiders host the Arizona Cardinals at this same venue in two days Aug. 13.
Raiders stadium host Sibley Scoles welcomed several thousand fans to the open practice, which cost five bucks to attend inside the domed stadium while it was 102 degrees outside.
Ten minutes later she was joined by two Raiders legends from 1996-2003. Tim Brown and Lincoln Kennedy.
Scoles asked the duo a simple question. What was up with the Raiders offense.’
“Offensively, we never got into a rhythm,” Brown said before practice started at 6 PM. Brown noted he played with 17 different Raiders quarterbacks.
Another Raiders quarterback, veteran Kirk Cousins, 37, will start for the team.
But when will the league’s overall number one draft pick, Heisman-winning Mendoza, assume the helm of the offense?
Kubiak is coming off a Super Bowl triumph as the former offensive coordinator of the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks. And he deployed running back Kenneth Walker III bigtime in the title game victory over the New England Patriots. Walker ran for 135 yards on 27 carries, earning the big game’s MVP award.
Can he do the same with the Raiders’ first round draft pick — Ashton Jeanty — behind an offensive line anchored by center Tyler Linderbaum?
PSA
Happy 10th!
