This offseason, it's becoming clear that Tom Brady at the very least a strong say over how the Las Vegas Raiders are going to operate going forward. He had his fingerprints all over the head coach and general manager searches and was also trying to recruit Matthew Stafford.
He struck out on Stafford but Brady figures to be heavily involved in trying to find the Raiders' next starting quarterback. One player who knows what Brady likes as well as anybody is Brian Hoyer.
He spent years as Brady's backup in New England and also spent a season with the Raiders. He explained what the quarterback is going to be looking for this offseason.
“No. 1, in my opinion, has got to be toughness, work ethic, leadership,” Hoyer told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. “All of those things, which is why you’re probably going to see him initially go, obviously, make a play for Stafford, possibly for [Aaron] Rodgers, a guy he knows can come in and settle the ship until he can find the young guy that they believe in.”
“There’s a big mental aspect that’s probably going to go into [the decision] and I’m sure any quarterback that’s going to be brought in to be considered the quarterback of the Raiders at some point is going to sit down with Tom Brady and he’s going to go over things and say ‘Ok, it’s third down and here comes the weak safety blitz. How are you going to handle that?'”
Any rookies fit the bill?
If Brady wants to go with a quarterback he can trust, Shedeur Sanders may end up being the play. The two have known each other for years and Sanders had an NIL deal with Brady's TB12 brand.
If it's not Sanders, the Raiders may hold off on using an early draft pick on a quarterback for a different year. This isn't a great class and there are even questions about Sanders. Stafford would've given the Raiders at least two or three years of very good quarterback play but the team is likely going to have to settle for average to above average quarterback play in 2025.