🔗 Share this article

Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He achieved that goal. Now, in retirement, Brady has explored various pursuits. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's engaged in construction projects in Birmingham. He has promoted digital assets. He's spreading American football to Saudi Arabia. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's retirement ventures appear either diverse or aimless, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are understandable. But overseeing a NFL team is hardly a casual commitment. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the unofficial football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were embarrassed by a struggling team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offense averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time plays in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game high for any team this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for most of the season. Any way you slice it, it was a thorough domination. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this latest Vegas mess was working in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Collection of Questionable Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only been involved for a year guiding the team's football decisions, after becoming a partial stakeholder of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every significant move last summer, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and aimless franchise in the league.

This wasn't supposed to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was supposed to return the team to relevance and then transition them with a solid foundation in place. Conversely, Carroll is facing the possibility of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Turmoil

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has cycled through coaches and executives at a speed that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. Nevertheless, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter Tom Pelissero commented last offseason. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll stated of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a team."

Brady made the crucial appointments and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his college buddy and colleague in Tampa, to act as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and drafting a RB with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the league. And he approved handing a unreliable offensive line – the bedrock for that coach and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It's been a disaster. The previous year's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were competitive and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive philosophy, Smith looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any aspirations for their rookie and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the NFL single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is positive outlook around the stellar-looking first-year players that includes two potential stars – Quinshon Judkins at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders showed that the stage was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to prepare, he was solid, taking what the defense gave him and showing glimpses of improvisation. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Vision

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises recognize their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they failed to adjust during the season. Similar to the Browns, Vegas should be playing rookies to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has apparently already been disagreement between the coaching staff and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the offensive line being a weak point. Rookie receivers two young talents have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to roll out grizzled vets on the defensive side over rookies in need of reps.

Unclear Future

Where is the future direction? Will Carroll be back or the GM or Smith? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, approves major organizational decisions, and then disappears on side quests?

It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a conference filled with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other reconstructing teams have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have talented young QBs. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No quarterback. No distinctive style. No strategic vision.

The only thing more problematic than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're underperforming. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are developing, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

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