Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza said he's keeping his focus on football and steering clear of Sin City's nightlife as he prepares for his rookie season.
"I've been there once or twice, but I haven't really experienced the Strip," the 2026 No. 1 overall pick told The Athletic's Mike Silver. "It's like a boogeyman. A lot of people talk about the Strip like, 'You don't want to go there.'
"It's like when you're a kid; you're trick-or-treating, and there's the haunted house. You're not trying to go over there."
Mendoza added that his main worry about visiting the Strip is straying from the path that led him to the NFL, rather than local temptations. The 22-year-old said he intends to maintain the same focused approach that earned him the role as the new face of the Raiders franchise.
"The system that got me here, it's a grinder system," Mendoza said. "It's a system where I know I put a lot into it, and best-case (scenario), boom, it's letting me have success already."
Not heavily recruited out of high school, Mendoza finished his college career by leading Indiana to a 16-0 season and its first national championship. The Miami native also won the Heisman Trophy and several other individual awards to cap the 2025 season.
Although Kirk Cousins opened training camp as the starting quarterback, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said he wanted Mendoza and fellow backup Aidan O'Connell to push the veteran signal-caller.
Mendoaza will make his preseason debut Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals.
