Ever since he joined the Raiders in a minority ownership role, there's been a ton of speculation about just what, exactly, Tom Brady does for the team. It's been a point of contention for those who point out his role as TV analyst for Fox Sports, and there were conflicting reports about just how involved he was in the decisions to move on from Antonio Pierce and hire Pete Carroll.
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And while no one's still really all that sure exactly what he does there, it's not hard to imagine that his influence across the league – and on the team's behalf – holds a good bit of weight. It's what makes a recent "report" from Raiders reporter Vincent Bonsignore all the more interesting: Bosignore, who covers the team for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, half-reported half-speculated that Brady could be actively working to get Matt Stafford to Las Vegas this offseason.
Tom Brady could be working behind the scenes to get a Matt Stafford trade done for the Raiders
"Something to keep an eye on, per sources: the persuasiveness of Tom Brady as a recruiter for the Raiders," Bonsignore said on Sunday morning. "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."
For the last two months, the only two quarterbacks that have been talked about in the Raiders' orbit were Shedeur Sanders and Sam Darnold, so just putting aside all the Brady stuff for a second, it's fun that there's a new QB rumor to overanalyze. It doesn't even sound *that* far-fetched, either; Pete Carroll's vision of a hyper-short rebuild probably looks a lot easier with Stafford than either of the other two guys.
And even if the Stafford speculation ends up being just that, Bonsignore brings up an sneaky big question for the Raiders offseason: just how influential is Brady actually? (Both in conversations with other teams/players and also, you know, his own front office.) Is Brady just going to run into a bunch of guys in Tahoe and try to convince them that Vegas is only a year away from being a year away? Or is he actually sitting down with Carroll/Spytek and working the phones. If they really do end up pulling off a Stafford trade, I think we may have our answer.