The Las Vegas Raiders offseason is in full swing and already one of the most exciting in the NFL. After an interaction between Raiders owner Mark Davis and New England Patriots free agent quarterback Tom Brady at a UFC fight, rumors began to swirl that the six-time Super Bowl champion might be coming to the desert.
After failing to win a postseason game for the first time since the 2010 season, Brady’s impending free agency became a lot more interesting. While it would make sense that the legendary quarterback would stay with the team he has played for his entire career, it was reported that the Raiders would pursue him to become Derek Carr‘s replacement if he has a desire to leave.
Although Carr has appeared confident in his role, it is hard to not at least be intrigued by the potential of bringing in Brady. Some Raiders players have commented on the matter as Josh Jacobs stated that the team would be okay in either quarterback’s hands, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN:
Colleague @AdamSchefter report #Raiders would pursue @TomBrady should he enter FA brought me back to @iAM_JoshJacobs' quote to me on Friday: “I think that Derek is an amazing quarterback. I think that he’s actually one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met. I mean, whatever…(more)
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) February 2, 2020
"they decide to do, we’ll be in good hands. You can’t ever really compare another quarterback to Tom Brady. But, I think that whatever they decide to do we’ll be in good hands."
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) February 2, 2020
The most interesting part of all of these rumors is that they’re coming after Carr’s best year, statistically speaking. Despite having a rotating cast of receivers throughout the whole season, Carr finished with career highs in passing yards and completion rate.
The main criticism seems to stem from the fact that Carr has yet to have any postseason success. Of course, during the Raiders’ one playoff appearance of Carr’s career, he was sidelined with a broken leg.
On the other hand, as Jacobs said, it is hard to compare anyone else in the league to Brady. He just finished his 20th season and will be turning 43 this August. While his age is concerning, his track record as a winner certainly speaks for itself.
Despite going 7-9 in 2019, the Raiders have a number of talented young players in addition to plenty of draft capital and cap space. They will be ready to compete for a postseason berth in 2020, regardless of who is under center for Jon Gruden.
