With the Tennessee Titans re-signing Ryan Tannehill, and the San Francisco 49ers out, are the Las Vegas Raiders the favorites to land Tom Brady?
Even with the global pandemic known as the coronavirus shutting down the sports world, it's business as usual for the Las Vegas Raiders and the NFL. Early this morning it was announced the new CBA was approved which will keep labor peace until the 2030 season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens have agreed to a trade involving Calais Campbell and some teams have already begun re-signing some of their own.
One of those players who signed a new deal today was Tennessee Titans quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill inked a four-year deal worth up to $118 million.
The Titans were thought to be the front runner to sign free agent Tom Brady but this now takes them out of the running. With the Titans no longer in need of a quarterback, the Raiders could be the new leaders in the clubhouse.
Reports as early as February were that the Raiders were ready to make a strong push for the 43-year old quarterback should he reach free agency. Those rumors only intensified in the following weeks.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock remained supportive of their current quarterback situation but have continued to leave the door open for a possible change by saying, "they will look to improve at every position." Even with the Titans out of the picture there still are multiple teams that pose a threat to the Raiders chances of landing the six-time Super Bowl champion.
With the San Francisco 49ers now out as well according to Chris Simms, that leaves the Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New England Patriots very much alive in the Tom Brady sweepstakes alongside the Silver and Black.
While the Raiders may not have the receiving weapons on offense that the Chargers and Bucs have, they do have the attraction of a big time head coach, a brand new billion dollar stadium in Las Vegas, a top five offensive line, a stud running back, and two picks in the top-20 in this years draft.
Teams can legal begin negotiating with agents as early as Monday at noon eastern time. Expect it to be a wild week in the NFL. In terms of Brady, the Raiders are definitely in the mix, but calling them the front-runner may be a bit much.