It’s already been nearly three years since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
On Mar. 17, 2020, Brady announced that he wasn’t returning to New England following a historic 20-year run with the organization. He signed a two-year deal with the Buccaneers and went on to enjoy a thrilling three-year run there, featuring a Super Bowl 55 championship and three playoff appearances.
The Los Angeles Chargers, who had moved on from franchise icon Philip Rivers, were widely mentioned as a possible landing spot for Brady as well. One of the Bolts’ rival teams was also in the running for the Brady sweepstakes.
Speaking to Jeff Fedotin of Forbes, Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Darren Waller revealed that he heard Brady coming to Sin City was “a lock”. Of course, that never transpired, and Derek Carr wound up sticking around as Vegas’ starter for three more seasons:
“I’ve heard it from multiple sources that I respect and I’ve been close to. They’re like, ‘Yeah, Brady to the Raiders was a lock.'”
Before Brady announced his retirement on Feb. 1, plenty of rumors and reports suggested that the Raiders would be a front-runner for his services if he opted to leave the Buccaneers. That’s obviously not happening now, and with Carr being released last week, Josh McDaniels and company need to find a new starting quarterback in the coming weeks.
