Getty Tom Brady will be a free agent in 2023.
Tom Brady’s future with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remains uncertain with some NFL insiders suggesting several potential threats to land the legendary quarterback if TB12 suits up in 2023. Brady will be a free agent this offseason meaning re-signing with the Bucs, joining another team or beginning his NFL broadcast career with Fox all remain as potential possibilities. The Athletic’s Mike Sando believes the Raiders could be a threat to land Brady given his previous New England ties to Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels.
“Tom Brady remains among the top quarterbacks in the game and will have options next season if he decides to continue playing,” Sando wrote on November 25, 2022. “Could he reunite with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas? Could he finish his career with the San Francisco 49ers, whom he rooted for as a kid? Where would the Buccaneers fit into any decision? So many questions. Not many answers at this early stage.”
Brady may have a connection to McDaniels, but it is hard to imagine the Raiders being a more appealing situation than the Buccaneers. Las Vegas is just 3-7 through their first ten games, and quarterback Derek Carr signed a three-year, $121.5 million contract last offseason. Carr also possesses a no-trade clause even if the Raiders wanted to move on from the former Pro Bowler.
‘The Vegas Thing Seems Wild to Me,’ Says Analyst
ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum also labeled the Raiders as a potential destination for Brady, but not everybody sees the fit. Former NFL corner turned analyst Domonique Foxworth admitted “the Vegas thing seems wild” for Brady pointing to the glaring holes on the Raiders roster.
“The Vegas thing seems wild to me, because I can’t imagine Tom Brady just coming back to try to pad his historic stats,” Foxworth remarked during the November 22 edition of “Get Up.” “The Raiders, they are not a quarterback away or an offensive-minded head coach away from winning a championship.
“They need some help on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve been bad on defense for quite some time. …I can’t imagine Tom Brady wants to go to Vegas and just get beat up on.”
Dana White on TB12 to the Raiders: ‘It Was Almost a Done Deal’
This is not the first time Brady has been linked to the Raiders, but Las Vegas appears to be in an admittedly worse position roster wise than the last time the quarterback was a free agent. During an August 20 ESPN UFC simulcast with Rob Gronkowski, UFC president Dana White indicated that Brady was headed to Las Vegas in 2020 before former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden “blew up the deal.” Brady has since denied White’s account, but it will be interesting to see if the Raiders re-emerge as a contender for the quarterback.
“I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders, and it was almost a done deal,” White explained. “And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want him and all hell broke loose, man.
“It was crazy, and Brady was already looking at houses. …So, Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl except Gruden blew the deal up.”