Two weeks ago, Tom Brady’s primary gig wrapped until September. He’s now presumably putting greater focus than ever on his 1B role as Raiders minority owner/majority influence.
With the Scouting Combine a/k/a Tampering Central starting this week and with free agency starting roughly one week later, the question becomes whether and to what extent Brady will be involved in the recruitment of free agents to Las Vegas. And whether it will help.
Consider this tweet from Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Something to keep an eye on, per sources: the persuasiveness of Tom Brady as a recruiter for the Raiders. It will make things interesting during free agency. And maybe even in the trade market. It’s why you can’t rule out Matthew Stafford as an option.”
On one hand, Brady’s presence didn’t deliver Ben Johnson to the Raiders as head coach. On the other hand, John Elway’s status as a Hall of Fame, GOAT-level quarterback helped deliver quarterback Peyton Manning to the Broncos 13 years ago when Peyton had many suitors.
The key to free agency is winning the jump balls without having to sweeten the pot. Typically, the “bad” teams need to pay extra. Brady could change that.
The Raiders saw the potential impact of a persuasive recruiter last year, when Magic Johnson persuaded offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to pick the Commanders after apparently making a verbal commitment to the Raiders.
Brady has the name and the cachet. Can he make a compelling case to players who have roughly the same offer on the table from a “better” team?
The threshold test will be the team’s looming quarterback move. Can he persuade Stafford to come to the Raiders? Can Brady deliver Rodgers? They’ve already been linked to Sam Darnold. Would he go to the Raiders for the same money that someone else is offering? Or maybe even less?
Most importantly, can Brady help the Raiders get their first choice at the position? We’ll never know who their first choice was, because no team is going to introduce a new player by telling the world, “There’s someone else we wanted more.” Internally, however, it’ll be the first test of Brady’s ability to help deliver the guy the Raiders have targeted.
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