NFL rumors: Raiders had shocking Plan A before Jimmy G deal

The Las Vegas Raiders may have had interest in signing Tom Brady instead of Jimmy Garoppolo prior to his second retirement.

Prior to adding Jimmy Garoppolo in free agency, the Las Vegas Raiders may have kicked around the idea of signing Tom Brady as a free agent.

Tashan Reed and Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported Las Vegas explored all options before signing the former San Francisco 49ers starter and New England Patriots backup. With Garoppolo having played under Josh McDaniels in New England and in the same building as front office executive Dave Ziegler, the connection was obvious. Then again, the same principle applies to Brady as well.

While the Raiders would have been a low-key good fit for Brady, he opted to retire a second time.

NFL rumors: Las Vegas Raiders looked at Tom Brady before Jimmy Garoppolo

Look. I want nothing more than for Garoppolo to be the best thing to happen to the Raiders since Ken Stabler. The Snake is a legend for so many reasons, and I want Garoppolo to finally get the respect he deserves as a player. As far as adding Brady is concerned, we all knew that his working relationship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was totally cooked midway through last NFL season.

While the Raiders were probably not going to be championship-caliber with a 46-year-old Brady as their quarterback, they did employ the late George Blanda well into his 40s. He mostly kicked field goals for them, but he will be enshrined in Canton forever with Brady in only six years. Again, we are in the interesting business, and Brady going full-blown heel turn would have been so epic.

Truth be told, Garoppolo is absolutely perfect for what the Raiders need right now after pivoting off Derek Carr. Garoppolo is a high-end, stop-gap starter. He will win you games when healthy and is not afraid of the big stage in the postseason. The problem is he is injury-prone and for that reason, nobody is going to ever view him as the face of their franchise. Well … let’s just win, baby!

Ultimately, we are never going to know if the Brady-McDaniels reunion would have worked in Las Vegas. Honestly, it probably would not have lived up to the hype because Brady is getting old and the Raiders just aren’t that good. However, this Jimmy G connection could be the greatest thing to happen to Las Vegas since gambling. The Raiders may not be great, but they are interesting now.

The Brady to the Raiders connection seemed legit initially, but it might have been even more so.

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Author: John Buhler