Tom

Brady

The Raiders were reportedly ready to offer Matthew Stafford “a two-year deal for around $90-100 million” if Stafford wanted out of Los Angeles, and if the Rams were willing to accept a second-round pick in exchange, but Stafford chose to stay put. While Brady and Spytek obviously call the shots, it is worth noting that “there are members of the Raiders’ offensive coaching staff who prefer adding a proven veteran quarterback to taking a dice roll on a rookie quarterback.” The Raiders’ new leadership group failed to achieve its number one offseason goal, securing Stafford, and must now work through their first organizational obstacle. The results of the new quarterback search will have a lasting impact on the current group’s tenure.

Brady, per Pelissero, wanted to know “what it would take” to lure Belichick away from the University of North Carolina job he took a few weeks ago. Belichick’s deal with the university is over five years, though Belichick reportedly has easy outs in the deal. The Raiders this week fired head coach Antonio Pierce after one disastrous season at the helm. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Belichick could be on the Raiders sideline in 2025.

The circumstances under which Brady would be willing to return are about what you’d expect. Brady said if a team in contention were to have lost its quarterback late in a season, he would be open to a return. Now a full year removed from the game and set to begin a broadcasting career this upcoming season; it’s hard to imagine Brady, who will be 47 in August, stepping in after more than a year away to help a hypothetical contender. As Brady also pointed out, he’s hoping to become a minority owner of the Raiders, and he doesn’t know if the league would allow him to return if he were holding a stake in another team.

Brady insists he has retired for the last time. The mere existence of a report like this shows the lengths to which the Jets might go to sign a viable starting quarterback should Zach Wilson play as poorly as he did in 2021 and 2022. Brady, meanwhile, will probably have to deny comeback rumors until his 50s.

Brady’s purchase in a minority stake in the Raiders, coupled with Jimmy Garoppolo’s foot injury, has once again spurred speculation of Brady returning. Brady squashing rumors of a return has become commonplace since he announced his retirement in February and will likely continue through the remainder of the season. Brady’s status will be one to monitor if the Raiders cut ties with Garoppolo this offseason. However, it appears the future hall of famer is intent on staying retired regardless of how many times he’s asked.

Garoppolo is expected to miss the Raiders’ OTAs. Reed said Jimmy G’s recovery timeline is unknown but “the sense is that the team is confident he’ll be ready to play by the start of the regular season.” Head coach Josh McDaniels wouldn’t answer directly on Thursday when asked if Garoppolo had undergone surgery on the foot he injured late last season. It’s curious timing for such a procedure -- four months after Garoppolo suffered the injury against the Dolphins in Week 13. Garoppolo, who has missed 31 games over the past four seasons, has a long history of strange timing for surgical procedures. Brian Hoyer or rookie QB Aidan O’Connell could get starts for the down-bad Raiders if Garoppolo isn’t ready for the regular season. Tom Brady’s involvement with the Raiders could take on renewed interest too.

As mentioned above, this sale is still pending league approval, but it appears as if Brady is set to partner with Raiders owner Mark Davis, who he is already partnered with as a minority with his stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Brady is also set to join Fox Sports next year as an analyst and is already involved with several other personal business ventures. Of all the rumors surrounding Brady, the one that has yet to gain any real steam is the possibility of a comeback. The 45-year-old future hall of famer has remained mostly quiet on the prospects of another comeback.

The ever-restless Brady is reportedly considering pulling out of his broadcasting agreement with Fox Sports and joining Mark Davis as a limited partner with the Raiders. There has also been some loose talk of Brady getting involved with the Dolphins, perhaps as a part-owner and perhaps as a player. It’s hard to say what Brady, 45, is going to do next. If he joins the Raiders, hopefully he can pass on some helpful advice to Jimmy Garoppolo.

What he actually said was: “I will say now that I’m not affiliated with any team anymore, even though I have strong ties with a couple teams, I do have some friends on the Dolphins that I really like. So, I wouldn’t say I necessarily root for them all the time, but I root for my friends to do well, and several of them play for Miami.” I’s going to take a stronger denial from Brady on this question -- especially given how the Dolphins lost their first-round pick secretly trying to recruit him -- before we’re ready to call it completely on his chances of unretiring. Tua Tagovailoa’s revelation that he contemplated retirement only adds to the potential smoke.

The Buccaneers are currently $55 million over the cap and will truly be in cap hell if they decide to not move some of Brady’s contract around via post-June 1 shenanigans. Donovan Smith is the only player on the roster that will create more than $5 million in cap savings without a post-June 1 designation. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo says that the plan is to “retool while still competing,” and notes that they may not have the money to chase a quarterback like Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s possible that Kyle Trask enters the season as Tampa’s starting quarterback if they are committed to eating Brady’s salary cap hit in 2023.