The future looks unclear for 45-year-old Tom Brady as he enters his 24th year of playing football in the NFL. There are multiple options for the well-aged quarterback, with one of them being a major move out West to the Las Vegas Raiders. Once there, he’d be reunited with some familiar faces in Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler. After their final game of the season, several Buccaneers players felt like Brady’s time in Tampa was done.
Comments from players such as “I’d be surprised if he’s back” and “He sounded like a person saying goodbye for good” don’t seem too optimistic for a Brady return. The multiple-time champion quarterback has three options this offseason. One is that he could return to the Buccaneers. Or, maybe retire or play for another team after signing as a free agent.
Raiders News: Looks like Tom Brady is in no rush to make a decision…
NFL Insider Adam Schefter dropped an update with regard to Brady over the weekend. As it turns out, Brady is in no rush to make a decision, according to Schefter. “No one knows exactly what he’s going to do yet,” says Schefter, with no imminent decision in place at the moment. Schefter also added that after the fiasco surrounding his “retirement” last offseason, Brady will be keeping things closer to his vest this year.
Since there is no clarity in the future, this brings a number of issues to the Bucs. First, they fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, whom Brady was fond of. According to Pro Football Reference, the QB ended the 2022 season with a completion percentage of 66.8%, a total of 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. After spending three seasons with the Bucs and getting closer to retirement, Brady will have to make one of the biggest decisions of his career.
The Bucs were full of injuries, which contributed to Brady’s season not ending the way he potentially planned. In theory, Brady would want to go somewhere to get paid. Still, just as important for him would be for his new team to have a working system in place. Also, at this point, he’d like to go somewhere special to end his legacy. The Raiders would do just that for him. They’d be able to afford a short-term contract with the potential release or trade of Derek Carr. Another major factor is the history between Brady, McDaniels, and Ziegler, as they were all once together in New England.
Many tough decisions will have to be made this offseason…
One issue with the Raiders, however, is the number of re-signings that need to be done. According to Spotrac, there are 26 players who are going to be restricted free agents. That means there will have to be a lot of budgeting and hard decisions made. Players such as running back Josh Jacobs, linebacker Denzel Perryman, and quarterback Jarrett Stidham are only a few of the players who have to be taken into consideration.
The offseason is about to look a lot more interesting for the Raiders. They need to get their quarterback situation under control soon. Tom Brady taking time to make a decision only makes it tougher for the Raiders to figure things out. Among those things are who will be the future of the franchise and who their starting quarterback is going to be.
*Top Photo: Getty Images Pool
