Getty Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.
Free agency is finally almost here and after months of rumors, the world should soon find out what team Tom Brady will play for in 2020. The Las Vegas Raiders have been one of the main teams linked to the quarterback and rumors have gone around that they’re ready to offer him big money. However, there hasn’t been any indication that Brady has an interest in donning the silver and black.
There have been a number of conflicting reports as to whether or not the future Hall of Famer will be a Raider, but former NFL quarterback and now an analyst for NBC Sports Chris Simms is reporting that Brady has narrowed his preferences down to two teams. Las Vegas is not among them.
Sources: 49ers are OUT on Tom Brady, sticking with Jimmy Garoppolo. Brady sweepstakes are down to 2 teams: t.co/uqxtdcjCNl
Simms is saying that he hears that the Tampa Buccaneers and New England Patriots are the two teams the quarterback is eyeing. It’s reasonable to believe that Simms is a trusted source considering his time in the NFL. It’s interesting that he didn’t even mention the Raiders in his report considering he played for Jon Gruden and they are among the teams that have been linked to him. Brady to the Raiders was always a pipedream and it looks like the dream is pretty much dead unless something changes over the next couple of days.
Will Raiders Target Other Veteran QB?
With Ryan Tannehill off the market and Tom Brady unlikely to come to Las Vegas, the quarterback market has gotten much smaller for the Raiders if they were looking. Teddy Bridgewater, Philip Rivers and Jameis Winston are still available and the Raiders have been linked to each of them in some way. However, none of those options are clearly better than Derek Carr, so it would be surprising if the team signed any of them.
The most likely veteran the Raiders add is Marcus Mariota, who would likely come in with the intention of being Carr’s backup. It would be a smart move as the team didn’t have a solid backup a year ago. Mariota is a player who can come in and play well in the event that Carr gets injured or struggles. There’s rumored interest there, so don’t be surprised if Mariota strikes a deal with Las Vegas early in free agency.
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Raiders Could Draft QB
If the Raiders don’t give up on Carr in favor of another veteran during free agency, there’s still a strong chance they take a quarterback in the draft. If that were to happen, Carr would likely still be the starter for 2020 but would have to mentor a young quarterback. He probably wouldn’t love that.
However, if he wants to get the Raiders’ endorsement, he needs to start putting up better numbers. Until that happens, they’re not going to fully trust him. Once the draft rolls around, keep an eye on Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts as the Raiders have reported interest in them. Neither guy is ready to start day one, so they’d have to sit behind Carr. That could create a very interesting dynamic in the quarterback room.
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