Fernando Mendoza isn’t bored. The Raiders QB’s past comments explain his yawn.

Fernando Mendoza, rookie quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, says he is far from bored despite a widely circulated yawn captured on the sideline during the team’s Week 2 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. A seven‑second clip posted by CBS Sports showed Mendoza yawning on the bench and quickly amassed 4.5 million views across the network’s social‑media platforms. Some observers interpreted the yawn as a sign of disengagement from the No. 1 wide‑receiver waiting for his chance to back up Kirk Cousins. Mendoza, however, offered a different explanation during an appearance on Maxx Crosby’s podcast in July. “As a backmost you request to beryllium truthful cerebral, and there’s been immoderate games that — I person a batch of passionateness erstwhile I play — and I tally blistery sometimes,” Mendoza said. “There’s 1 clip earlier a crippled I yawned and I was freaking out. I was like, ‘How americium I tired? I slept similar 9 hours.’ It’s like, ‘Hey, that’s conscionable your assemblage getting much oxygen.’” He described his pregame routine as an effort to calibrate an “activation level” that prevents his body from over‑exerting itself and keeps his mind and physique in sync. “I already know, the crippled is going to get maine up to that point, wherever my tense strategy is going to be firing, I’m going to get a small spot of the tingles, which means my assemblage is acceptable to vie and acceptable to win,” he said, noting that working with an intelligence coach has helped him interpret his physical cues and channel his energy effectively. Mendoza added that mindful breathing is part of his regimen, but he does not shy away from the occasional yawn. “It’s small tips and tricks similar that (breathing), that I’m tweaking, truly conscionable trying to bash everything I perchance tin to champion service my teammates,” he said.