Raiders owner Mark Davis confirms suspicion regarding a past decision that could have changed the franchise forever
Mark Davis just let everyone know that the Las Vegas Raiders were close to having Tom Brady at QB instead of Derek Carr.
A few years ago, Tom Brady, who is now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, went on LeBron James’ show called The Shop, and actually threw shots at former QB Derek Carr and former head coach Jon Gruden.
Well, we thought that’s what he was doing, but it was never confirmed because there were so many possibilities of who he could have been talking about. On Wednesday, owner Mark Davis confirmed those suspicions.
Raiders’ Mark Davis confirms suspicion regarding Tom Brady and Derek Carr
I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone take Carr over Brady? Well, it appears that’s what Jon Gruden did. He’s an offensive mastermind, but we can all agree he made some pretty bad decisions during his tenure with the Raiders.
Not getting Brady was one of them. On The Shop, Brady commented on a team that he didn’t specifically name, choosing another player over him, and how it fueled him. The rumor is that he was talking about Carr and the Raiders, but it has always been just a rumor, since no names were involved. Now, it seems like he was talking about the Raiders based on what Davis is saying.
“He [Tom Brady] was supposed to be here [Las Vegas] in 2020,” Davis told former NBA All-Star Baron Davis, who now works for the Raiders. “That’s really when our relationship started was in 2020, when he was a free agent, and we talked to him about coming here to be a quarterback.
“Obviously, he was close to coming here, but the head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction. So, we didn’t sign him, but as I got to know him through that process, I told his agent that when he retired, I wanted him to be a part of our organization.”
That was the year Brady ended up winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he still looked good as ever. It doesn’t do anything for them now, but imagine Brady in Silver and Black in 2020-2021, the last year the Raiders made the postseason.
Now, the former New England Patriots QB is a part of the organization, but in the form of ownership. And, the Raiders are not afraid to come to him with decisions and opinions. You can already see some of that starting to rub off on the Raiders, too, even though Brady is most of the time behind closed doors. The hiring of Pete Carroll, the former Seattle Seahawks head coach, and the trade for Geno Smith were certainly ideas that Brady was in favor of.
Brady, the greatest player of all time, being a Las Vegas Raiders QB would have been awesome. But Carr, who went on to the New Orleans Saints and is now retired, was the guy Gruden wanted.