Brady's Part-Time Role with the Raiders: An Unsettling Scenario

Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a unwavering objective: becoming the most accomplished QB in league history. He achieved that dream. Now, in retirement, Brady has explored numerous endeavors. He works as a broadcaster for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in Birmingham. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's spreading American football to the Middle East. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He even cloned his dog. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or aimless, based on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But managing a NFL team is hardly a casual commitment. Alongside his other roles, Brady functions as the de facto football leader for the Raiders, currently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a 24-10 defeat to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless action in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a season record for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas allowed big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for the majority of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The architect of this current situation was sitting in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Questionable Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's football decisions, after becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last offseason, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and directionless franchise in the league.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was expected to restore the team to relevance and then transition them with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is facing the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Turmoil

This isn't entirely Brady's responsibility, of course. The majority owner is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through head coaches and front-office heads at a rate that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any coherent long-term vision. Nevertheless, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter Tom Pelissero said last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a team."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and placed the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired a close associate, his college buddy and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including dealing a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a RB with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he approved handing a unreliable blocking unit – the bedrock for that coach and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It's been a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were competitive and resilient. The current Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has installed an old-fashioned defensive scheme, Smith looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was stark. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Myles Garrett, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the league single-season record, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes two potential stars – Quinshon Judkins at RB and Carson Schwesinger at linebacker. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at quarterback, but who is a viable option in the short-term.

Granted, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not too big for him. With a full week to get ready, he was effective, accepting what the defense gave him and showing glimpses of improvisation. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Direction

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent future potential. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises recognize their situation in the ecosystem: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the clear indications otherwise, they haven't pivoted during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be throwing out rookies to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen real playing time. There has reportedly already been disagreement between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action for two young blockers, despite the o-line being a weak point. Rookie receivers two young talents have totaled nine catches in 11 games, despite the lack of spark in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on the defensive side over rookies in need of experience.

Uncertain Direction

What is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or Smith? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its primary influencer participates sporadically, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on side quests?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division stacked with perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No plan.

The only thing more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the summer.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than limited attention of it.