Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza is known for his upbeat nature. His calm, composed demeanor and his maturity have caught everyone's attention. Now, his latest teammate is shedding light on whether that is really the case off-camera.

Rumors began to circulate that this disposition was nothing more than an 'act'. Now, to squash all those speculations, Mendoza's Raiders teammate Dont'e Thornton came to the fore. Speaking on Burn Factory, this is what Thornton said.

“What you see in all the videos and stuff before he got drafted, he’s the same person,” said Thornton. “It’s like he’s never had a bad day in his life. He was a number one overall pick, but he’s not a cocky person or anything like that. He’s very humble and is willing to help everybody."

Thornton's comment on Burn Factory is a testament that Mendoza's behavior is not a pretense by any means.

He was gracious in sharing the Heisman award with his teammates, as he said he was 1 of the 22 players on the field and it was a joint effort. He also skipped the White House invite on May 11th to practise with his team.

Mendoza is willing to relinquish the spotlight to further his career. He even spoke of his decision to choose practice over the ceremony prior and stood by his words.

"I’m at the bottom of the totem pole here. I gotta prove myself. I can’t miss practice. … As a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look." Mendoza had said.

Mendoza knows the NFL will be a different ball game altogether. So he wants to get his training in order. With that difficulty in mind, Derek Carr has a warning for Mendoza ahead of his NFL debut.

Derek Carr warns Raiders rookie quarterback ahead of 2026 season.

Former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr knows a thing or two about playing in the NFL. Naturally, Carr cautioned Mendoza on his upcoming journey.

Speaking to Good Morning Football, Carr spoke about how college football differs from the NFL.

"But, you know, for me, I just hope that he has time to just learn and grow in this game because third down in two minutes, a lot different in the Big Ten. It's a lot different in the NFL, you know, and so there's going to be a learning curve, and I hope that there's patience, you know, for him. But I wish him the best."

Mendoza is expected to learn the ropes from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was signed before Mendoza's arrival. The rookie is also visibly impressed with what he has seen from Cousins.

Speaking to Maxx Crosby on his podcast "The Rush," Mendoza talked highly about Cousins.

"Yeah, there's been a lot of great mentors in that quarterback room so far," said Mendoza, "A big thing with Kirk [Cousins] is the way that he just processes information, and it's not always just me overloading him with questions."

After a 41-touchdown season for Indiana, do you think Mendoza can live up to the hype in 2026?

How do you see Fernando Mendoza faring in his first season?

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote