"Did not like the idea of giving up power" - Shannon Sharpe claims Jon Gruden blocked Tom Brady's move to Raiders to prevent TB12 from stealing his throne
Tom Brady was allegedly almost a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, as we learned from Dana White's appearance on the UFC's 'GronkCast' stream of their latest PPV offering this past Saturday.
The UFC president shared that he had deals in place for the long-time New England Patriots quarterback and tight end Rob Gronkowski to join the Raiders, but ultimately the pair went a different direction and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—going on to win Super Bowl LV in Brady's first year in Tampa.
FS1's Undisputed with Skip and Shannon co-host Shannon Sharpe believes it was Jon Gruden that caused Brady to go elsewhere, accusing the since-fired head coach of blocking the quarterback from signing with the Las Vegas franchise:
"Well, I think the thing is, given Jon Gruden did not like the idea of giving up power. When you bring a guy on like a Peyton Manning, you bring a guy on like a Tom Brady. The power shifts. You are no longer the dominant voice in the locker room. They are."
"And you know, if you know anything about Jon Gruden, Jon Gruden is not ceding power to anyone. Derek Carr does not challenge the authority of a Jon Gruden like a Tom Brady would. And so it takes a special type of a coach."
This matches up with what Dana White himself said about the deals for the quarterback-tight end duo not going down:
"It was almost a done deal, and at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn't want [Brady], and all hell broke loose."
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Mark Davis doesn't deny Raiders' interest in Tom Brady in 2020 free agency
All the pieces in the puzzle have come together and painted a clear picture of there being legitimacy to the idea of Brady almost becoming a Raiders member in the 2020 free agency.
This Tom Brady-Raiders story is incredible when you put it all together https://t.co/INFMUVmWEH
Mark Davis' non-denial of the rumors to the Las Vegas Review-Journal all but confirms the validity of the gossip:
"I heard about [White's Brady story]. That was what—two to three years ago or something? I don't know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That's basically what I remember. I have no idea."
Mark Davis plays dumb on Dana White's Tom Brady-to-Raiders claim trib.al/JKDCkmQ https://t.co/OPJQNt5T6s
It should be interesting to see Derek Carr's response to these Brady-Raiders retroactive rumors.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Undisputed with Skip and Shannon and H/T Sportskeeda.