Tom Brady to Raiders: How realistic is the possibility in free agency?
After being spotted talking with Raiders owner Mark Davis at the latest UFC event, rumors of Tom Brady going to Vegas are swirling.
It’s no secret that the most accomplished NFL quarterback to ever lace up a pair of cleats, Tom Brady, might be on the move from the New England Patriots in 2020 NFL free agency. His every move has been highly publicized, especially how he spends his newfound free time during the NFL’s Conference Championship weekend.
At UFC 246 with many celebrities from around the world in attendance, cameras caught Brady smiling and conversing with Raiders owner Mark Davis and former fullback Marcel Reece.
Naturally, the Twitterverse lost their collective minds at what the two parties meeting could potentially mean for the Raiders and Brady.
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1218748446754078720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1218749020375592960&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnesn.com%2F2020%2F01%2Ftwitter-freaks-out-after-tom-brady-spotted-with-mark-davis-at-ufc-246%2F
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Brady himself added fuel to the fire stating that he’s “open-minded” about his future. But what are the chances that the longtime Patriots signal-caller would actually don the silver and black in Sin City?
It’s been beaten to death in the media that Brady may want to prove that he can win without Bill Belichick. He would go from Belichick to another Super Bowl-winning coach in Jon Gruden by joining the Raiders. Belichick is known as more of a defensive specialist, whereas Gruden is an offensive guru. This, coupled with the array of young weapons the Raiders already have and a plethora of picks to obtain more, could be very appealing to Brady.
While the future of the Raiders helps, historically, the Raiders have always been known as the land of opportunity. They give players another chance while other teams may not and pride themselves on their usual rosters of cast-offs. This isn’t completely the case currently, but not completely untrue either.
Brady would fit the mold of the myriad of signal-callers to join the Raiders that came from elsewhere. George Blanda, Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon are the most successful that come to mind and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As a little cherry on top, two of the most successful Raiders quarterbacks in their history, Gannon and Hall-of-Famer Ken Stabler, also wore No. 12. (We won’t get into Todd Marinovich though.)
Geographically, Las Vegas may not as appealing as, say, Los Angeles and the Chargers (another team with quality young offensive players linked to Brady) but it would be a bigger potential market to capitalize on than Oakland. Besides, the Raiders have one of the biggest national followings in sports.
The NFL would look to capitalize on this new market and, with a new state of the art stadium on the way, what better way to sell tickets to one of America’s favorite teams than its most successful quarterback?
At the end of the day, the decision is entirely up to Thomas Edward Patrick Brady (and, of course, his family). There’s always the very solid chance he signs with another team like the aforementioned Chargers, back with the Patriots or another team nobody is talking about yet.
There are a lot of reasons why the Brady-Raiders relationship makes sense, but a lot why it doesn’t too. If it doesn’t come to fruition, the next couple of drafts are littered with enticing passing prospects, and there’s some appealing free agency options as well. Also to be fair, while Derek Carr may not be a Hall-of-Fame talent, he’s no slouch either and had a very solid 2019 season.
Super Bowl 54: Pick, score predictions for 49ers-Chiefs. dark. Next
It’s completely unknown at this point what Tom Brady is going to do with his future. He may even retire, although it’s hard to imagine a competitor of Brady’s level would be ok with his last professional pass being a pick-six to lose a home playoff game.
While Brady donning the silver and black for the Raiders is fun to speculate and may seem like a long shot now, it doesn’t mean it’s entirely unrealistic either.