Raiders suspend Cousins, Crosby after practice altercation

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive end Maxx Crosby were suspended from team drills on Saturday after a confrontation during the previous day's practice, opening the door for rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza to run the starting offense for the first time in camp.

"We have very clear expectations about how we want to practice, how you go about our business," coach Klint Kubiak said. "We violated that yesterday, so we held those guys out. That's all I'm going to say about it. We addressed it with the team and we're moving on."

According to reports, the dispute began when Cousins was displeased that Crosby tipped a pass, leading the 37-year-old quarterback to charge the 6-foot-5, 256-pound defensive end. Teammates intervened to separate the players.

Mendoza, the former Heisman Trophy winner and first-overall draft pick, completed touchdown passes to tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer and to wide receiver Tre Tucker, while also showing the ability to evade pressure against the starting defense.

"Fernando continues to improve, and the thing I think we're very pleased about is from spring to the start of camp, there were some parts of this game we wanted him to improve upon and he has as we've added different layers and dimensions," quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's not repeating mistakes, which is always a good thing. It's a long process. We're pleased with how he's developing."

The Raiders, who have a day off on Sunday, will resume practice Monday, with both Cousins and Crosby expected to rejoin the squad. The team opens its preseason Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals, and while Cousins remains the presumed starter for the regular season, the coaching staff has indicated that Mendoza will see additional playing time.