Getty Las Vegas Raiders HC Josh McDaniels.
The Las Vegas Raiders may have given Jimmy Garoppolo a three-year contract this offseason but there’s already a lot of talk regarding who might replace him. The quarterback’s injury history makes it difficult to rely on him to play an entire season. That could lead the Raiders to draft a quarterback early and have them sit behind Garoppolo for the next year or so.
Las Vegas could also have a different plan. Tom Brady was heavily linked to the team before he decided to retire. He recently announced a partnership with Raiders owner Mark Davis regarding the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. It would not take Davis much convincing to make a move happen should Brady come out of retirement. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer is tight with Josh McDaniels’ camp and can’t rule out the idea of Brady coming back at some point and joining the Raiders:
Could he come back and play again, and could it be with the Raiders, given that he’s now partners in a WNBA ownership? I’d never say never on that, because of Brady’s addiction to competition, because of Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury history, because of Brady’s ties to the Raiders’ staff and because asking him to come play for a couple of months is different than trying to get a year commitment from him. But I’d believe him when he intimates that, as of right now, that’s not in the plans at all.
Which means I think what you see with Brady, again, for now, is what you get.
Brady Has Plans to Take a Year Off
Brady has already come out of retirement once. However, he made the announcement that he was coming back on March 13, 2022. March 13, 2023, has already passed and there’s no indication Brady plans to come this year. When he retired this offseason, he said it was for good this time. Breer is reporting that Brady had previously informed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers what his plans were this year.
“He told people with the Buccaneers in the fall that he was planning to take a year off after retirement to study broadcasting, ahead of actually getting in the booth with Fox Sports, and to spend more time with his kids (with the divorce making some of that, of course, a little more complicated in his needing to be with them at certain times),” Breer wrote.
Could Brady Come Back After a Year Off?
If Brady decides to take the year off, it seems less likely the Raiders will be an option. The team could draft a quarterback this year and would rather that player next year than a 47-year-old Brady. Now, if the Raiders don’t draft a quarterback this year, anything could be on the table next year.
Las Vegas will be able to get off Garoppolo’s contract after two seasons but could also figure out how to get off of it after one season if Brady is available. Committing to a 47-year-old quarterback who just took a year off isn’t exactly the safest plan but if the Raiders aren’t good in 2023, McDaniels and company could be desperate to try anything that will turn the team around.
