Raiders at a Disadvantage with Tom Brady, Opposing Team Source Tells NBC Host

Do the Raiders need Tom Brady to be more involved in the team’s day-to-day operations?

That has been one of the criticisms of Brady in his nearly two years in an official capacity with the team, and NBC host Mike Florio said this week that at least one opposing team hopes Brady’s role with the Raiders doesn’t change anytime soon.

“I basically got a tongue in cheek request from another team. ‘Stop talking about the Brady stuff. Stop talking about it,'” Florio said on PFT Live on Friday.

“Why? ‘He’s not going to make them any better, as long as he’s doing all this other sh–. So, let him, let him keep doing what he’s doing. Let him think that he’s in a position to turn this thing around, because he’s not,’” Florio said the team representative told him.

“‘I’m more worried about Matt Ryan,’ I was told, ‘than I am Tom Brady, because Matt Ryan, right, he loaded up the truck and moved to Atlanta. He’s there. He didn’t try to do both jobs. He’s all in, all the time. You got to be all in, all the time to be effective.'”

Florio has long been one of Brady’s staunchest critics in national media, and earlier in the week he accused Brady of being too involved in Fernando Mendoza’s development.

“I’m not even going to be that wishy washy about it. I don’t like the idea of the number one overall pick in the draft not playing,” Florio said.

“The Raiders need a spark. The Raiders need to get a return on their investment. And the sooner Fernando Mendoza plays, the sooner the game slows down. I hate to think that this number one approach to sitting Fernando Mendoza for maybe a full season is simply because that’s what Tommy wants and I also hate to think that Tommy wants it because he didn’t play as a rookie. I didn’t play as a rookie, so that must be the right approach for everyone…”

“Just because it works specifically for him, doesn’t mean it’s the right way in today’s NFL. I think in today’s NFL, if you’re going to use that number one overall pick on a quarterback, you better get that quarterback ready to play. He better be a guy who you think can play right away. If he’s not, you need to pick somebody else, you need to trade out of that spot.”

Brady might not be in the building, but he has been involved

Last year, Brady was accused of putting Chip Kelly in the offensive coordinator position in part because he would be able to work with Kelly on gameplans from afar.

Prior to being hired by the Raiders, Kelly had a relationship with Brady going back to at least 2011 when the Patriots consulted with the former University of Oregon coach for consecutive seasons.

The two reportedly worked together in preparation for the Chargers in the second week of the 2025 season.

At the time, a post from the NFL’s official account on X was quickly deleted last year after reporting that Brady and Kelly had been working “closely together” through the week.

For what it’s worth, NFL rules do not prohibit Tom Brady from communicating with coaches or observing in a team capacity.

League policy allows team owners and limited partners to visit coaches’ booths and wear headsets as Brady did against the Chargers in week 2 of last year.

However, Brady’s role as a minority owner and lead analyst for FOX Sports subjects him to strict anti-conflict-of-interest guidelines regarding facility access and information sharing. More than likely, that was the issue that prompted the league to take down the message about Brady’s involvement with the coaching staff through the week.

x: @raidersbeat