Tom Brady is getting a lot of love from a Raiders restless fan base in recent weeks, but you might have noticed he hasn’t been getting a lot of love here.
There are reasons for that other than years of resentment stemming from an incomplete forward pass. In fact, most are even grounded in good logic and common sense.
So let’s take a look at five reasons why Brady isn’t coming to Las Vegas… at least not to play football for the home team.
5 – Of course Brady has enjoyed the greatest quarterback career of all time, but now that he’s about to turn 43, is he really better than Derek Carr?
For arguments sake, what if Brady in his old age is just the same as Carr or even a little worse?
That’s a $30 million risk the Raiders should definitely hesitate to make. When Father Time shows up, he doesn’t knock on the door and he always lets himself in. Last year we started to see the decline of Brady. The fall is coming soon.
4 – What would Gruden look like if he brought in Brady (meaning he couldn’t get it done with Carr) and couldn’t win with a six-time Super Bowl champion?
Theoretically, let’s just say Brady is just too old or the Raiders simply can’t get past the Super Bowl champion Chiefs. How would Gruden explain not getting the job done with Carr and Brady?
Don’t you think Gruden has probably thought through that scenario?
A 10-year contract can get scrapped just like a five-year contract. The patience period for Gruden gets a lot shorter if Brady comes to town and things don’t immediately get better.
3 – Rule no. 1 in professional ring searching is don’t go to a division that features the league’s best player.
To the benefit of his legacy, LeBron James stayed far away from the NBA’s Western Conference for years and now Brady would be taking a huge gamble by jumping into the AFC West when he has so many simpler paths to the playoffs in other divisions.
Brady is used to waltzing through the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills to playoffs every year. That ain’t happening in the AFC West.
2 – Gruden’s offense is complicated, the verbiage is extensive, and it’s not the ideal transition for a 43 year-old quarterback looking to win now.
Would Gruden really want to reboot his offense for a quarterback that only has one or two competitive years left in the league… and pay that quarterback $30 million per year in the process?
Furthermore, does Brady really want to jump into a new offense with an offensive coach as set in his ways as Gruden?
Why do we assume a Gruden/Brady pairing would be a personality combination that would work in the first place?
1 – Wherever Brady goes, it won’t be the paycheck that draws him in.
Brady is going to be looking to win now and there will be at least 3-4 better rosters at Brady’s fingertips than what the Raiders have in Las Vegas. Remember, Brady will make his decision before March 18 and he will have no guarantee of who the Raiders will bring to Vegas in free agency.
If he decides to leave the Patriots, the Titans have always made the most sense from Brady. Tennessee rolled through New England last year and Brady should easily be convinced that the Titans would roll through the rest of the league with him at quarterback.
twitter: @raidersbeat
I was convinced at the #uck Rule reference! Signing Brady would set the Raiders back another decade! Carr is a great QB, stay the course with him, get him some receivers and some help on the defense and the Raiders are set!
He is very smart, so he wouldn’t fit well. His arm isn’t long or strong enough, and he knows that much.
Brady, unlike many other QB’s in the league, sacrificed money to play for a contender. Having the most expensive QB in the league, doesn’t get everyone a Superbowl ring. Look at Minnesota for an example. Since dishing out the money, for a great QB, the Vikings can’t seem to put an offensive line together to protect him. Brady won’t win without protection. So taking a huge offer to play for someone else a couple years, could mean he leaves the game crippled and / or in a wheelchair, from not being protected. It’s the greed factor. Viking receivers are pointing fingers at Kirk Cousins, but it’s not his skills that are to blame. Cousins is quite likely as good, if not better than Brady.
Cousins wants money, Brady wants a shot at a Superbowl ring.
I think the Patriots owe him a lot.
The case in point here is, that without an outstanding offensive line, those Minnesota receivers have been rendered useless. It doesn’t matter how much you pay them, when your QB is laying on his back, and can’t throw the ball down field. The Vikings had 3 good quarterbacks to choose from, but opted to pay Cousins.
Prior to that, with some money spent on the offensive line, I’d say the Vikings may have won the NFC Championship. They discarded Nick Files and Teddy Bridgewater like used asswipe. The quarterback is no Super Hero, unless he is protected like one.
There’s this thing called the Salary Cap, and offensive linemen are awfully important people. Greed, anywhere on a team, is not a good thing. If I’m the quarterback, I try to think of all these things, and I decide how much money I need to get the job done. The same holds true for other players on a teams roster. Do I want a ring, or do I just want the most money ? Brady will decide, as he has before, just what it is, he would like next. He will be analising where he should go. I’m sure he doesn’t end his career on the sidelines, in a wheelchair.
As I said, he is smart !
Based on the storyline in this article you are guessing and not reading the majority of comments on your previous articles. Commenters have been stating that they don’t want Brady. It is not a great option. Because of Brady’s age and recent performance. You have chosen to ignore the majority of Raider. Nation. I hope you reap what you sow
There are not to many writers that tell it hard core to the gut as displayed in this article . excellent analogy.
Any Raider fan who wants Brady is not a true Raider fan and that comes from a die hard fan dating back to 1967
keep Carr for at lease one more year.