NFL Rumors: Raiders planned to sign Tom Brady before settling with Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr release
On February 1, 2023, Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. Although this was Brady's second retirement, it left many people shocked. There was an expectation that the quarterback would sign with a new team in free agency, but instead, he decided to leave the game.
The Las Vegas Raiders were seen as the frontrunners to sign Brady in free agency, but since the legendary quarterback retired, they ended up with Jimmy Garoppolo. The seven-time Super Bowl champion later became a minority owner of the AFC West franchise, and his stake in the franchise could be finalized soon.
As per a recent report, the Las Vegas Raiders' interest in Brady was quite legitimate, and Garoppolo was not their primary target in free agency. Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter recently made an appearance on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast and gave an insight into the situation. He said:
“I’m not going to get into a ton of detail. I can’t. So if you choose not to believe this, that’s fine…There was no tampering, but the Raiders believed they were getting Tom Brady and had every reason to think that… I said [last season] you don’t get rid of a Derek Carr for a Jimmy Garoppolo and that was not the plan…
"Then some things transpired in Tom Brady’s life that made him coming and quarterbacking the Raiders to not be an option. That was not the Raiders fault. They had planned on Tom Brady. Go out and get a rookie. Develop him behind Brady and keep moving."
Hondo Carpenter later mentioned how Jimmy Garoppolo was the third option and that if Brady wasn't available, the team wouldn't have cut ties with Derek Carr. He said:
"So, their third choice was Jimmy Garoppolo. I’m not going to get into no. 2 for a while. I will one day get into who no. 2 was. I’m not getting into no. 2 today. It’s not something that’s of importance… I’m not going to beat up on this organization for not getting Tom Brady because I know some things that happened behind the scenes that is absolutely not their fault.
"I’m not going to get into why, because this isn’t TMZ. I’m not going to share things behind the curtain that they have no control over. I know they wouldn’t have let Derek [Carr] go if they thought Jimmy was [going to be] the guy. I know that.”
At the end of the last season, things started drifting south between the Raiders' head coach, Josh McDaniel, and Derek Carr. An exit was inevitable, and while the franchise tried to trade him, the veteran quarterback instead ended up getting released in February. He later signed a four-year $150 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Raiders could draft another QB next year under Tom Brady's ownership
Tom Brady's minority ownership could be finalized soon, and the franchise could draft a new quarterback next year. Jimmy Garoppolo isn't the long-term solution for them, and apart from careless turnovers, the quarterback is quite injury-prone.
The Raiders are 3-4 to start the season and could find themselves with a top-10 draft pick next year. Given how stacked the quarterback class is in next year's draft, they should draft a new quarterback.
While they are likely to miss out on Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, others like Michael Penix Jr., Quinn Ewers, or J.J. McCarthy could learn under Garoppolo for a year or two before taking the starting job.