The Las Vegas Raiders did not heavily pursue one specific quarterback this offseason, reportedly because of minority owner Tom Brady.
The Raiders were heavily linked to free agent quarterback Sam Darnold during the early part of the offseason. However, according to Michael Silver of The Athletic, Brady was “not in favor” of pursuing Darnold, and the Raiders never made a real effort to add the former Minnesota Viking.
That decision came despite a lot of reported interest from the Raiders. Perhaps that was true, but Brady supposedly was not a huge fan, and his opinion is clearly decisive in the organization.
The Raiders wound up trading for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith to fill their hole at the position. Ironically, that opened things up for the Seahawks to sign Darnold as Smith’s replacement.
It is anyone’s guess why Brady might not have been enthusiastic about Darnold. The quarterback did throw 35 touchdown passes last season, but his brutal end to the year may have given Brady and others pause.
By most accounts, there was another quarterback Brady preferred the Raiders pursue, but that did not wind up being possible.
