Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis recently reopened old wounds when he revealed that the team did, in fact, consider replacing former starting quarterback Derek Carr with Tom Brady back in 2020 before former head coach Jon Gruden shot down the idea.
Previously, Brady went viral for questioning the decision from an unnamed team to stick with their current quarterback over signing him, referring to the quarterback as “that (expletive).” There’s been speculation for years about which exact quarterback he was talking about, but Davis’ recent revelation essentially confirms that Brady was talking about Carr.
The former Raiders quarterback is now retired, while Brady is a part-owner in the Raiders. Carr has been doing the media rounds lately and finally had to address the infamous comments from the legendary quarterback.
“I’ll be completely honest, I had about a hundred different funny things to say, I couldn’t help myself,” Carr said on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “I’ve got nothing but love for Tom; he knows that. We’ve talked many times.”
For Carr, the Raiders did choose him over Brady, so he did get the last laugh. That said, it’s hard not to imagine what could’ve been if Las Vegas had been able to land Brady.
What Would’ve Happened Had Raiders Signed Brady?
After Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he led them to a Super Bowl championship in his first season. While they didn’t get back to the Super Bowl after that season, they were still a very good team during Brady’s stint.
The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2002, so it’s hard to imagine they would’ve been any worse than they have been. The Buccaneers’ roster was further along than the Raiders’ in 2020. It’s difficult to see that Las Vegas team winning a Super Bowl that year.
That said, Brady’s presence has proven to elevate an entire operation, and there could’ve been more good players willing to come to Las Vegas had he signed. It’s impossible to know if the Raiders would’ve won a Super Bowl, but it’s fair to assume they would’ve at least won a playoff game with Brady leading the charge.
Raiders Confident in Geno Smith
The Raiders finally moved on from Carr after the 2022 season, but had a difficult time replacing him the last two seasons. This offseason, the team traded for Geno Smith.
He may not be Brady, but he’s proven to be a major upgrade over what the team has had. At worst, he’s the same level of quarterback as Carr, but may have a higher ceiling.
From the Raiders’ perspective, they are very high on what Smith is doing right now.
“I’ve got the utmost confidence in Geno right now,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said on Friday. “We can call whatever we want, and I think he’s going to find a way to execute, and he’s going to make the right decision. Sometimes the right decision is to throw the ball away, but he’ll make that right decision. Very rarely do I see Geno trying to force anything, and he didn’t try to force anything last Sunday.”
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