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

Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a unwavering mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He accomplished that dream. Now, in his post-playing career, Brady has explored various pursuits. He works as a commentator for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in Birmingham. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's expanding American football to the Middle East. He operates a successful YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either eclectic or aimless, based on your perspective.

Side projects are one thing. But managing a NFL team is not a part-time job. Alongside his other roles, Brady also serves as the unofficial football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a 24-10 defeat to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were embarrassed by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless action in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith was tackled 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any franchise this year. On the defensive side, Las Vegas surrendered significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for most of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was sitting in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Collection of Dubious Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season guiding the team's football decisions, becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was responsible for every major decision last summer, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and directionless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to oversee a long slog back up the league table. He was expected to restore the team to relevance and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the possibility of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Organizational Dysfunction

This isn't all Brady's fault, of course. Mark Davis is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through coaches and front-office heads at a speed that would make even the Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a instability that has eliminated any coherent long-term vision. Nevertheless, it's Brady's influence that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," NFL Insider a prominent journalist said last summer. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a team."

Brady was responsible for the key hires and placed the Raiders on this directionless path. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to act as general manager. He approved a roster plan to the coach's specifications, including dealing a draft selection for Smith and drafting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a bottom-tier O-line. He lured an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he approved handing a flaky blocking unit – the foundation for that coach and running back – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Outcomes

It has become a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were scrappy and resilient. The current Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has installed an old-fashioned defensive philosophy, the quarterback looks washed and the Raiders' offensive line has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the end of the game.

The difference with Cleveland was stark. 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 all-time mark, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the stellar-looking first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and Carson Schwesinger at linebacker. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is An Answer in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the NFL level was not overwhelming for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was solid, taking what the opposition gave him and showing flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his first start since 1995.

Lack of Direction

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players symbolize future potential. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises understand their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. In spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing young players to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has reportedly already been disagreement between the coaches and the management regarding the lack of action for two young blockers, despite the o-line being a sieve. Rookie receivers two young talents have combined for nine receptions in eleven contests, despite the ineffectiveness in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on the defensive side over rookies in need of reps.

Uncertain Direction

Where is the future direction? Will the coach return or the GM or the quarterback? And who actually makes those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise operate when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off major organizational decisions, and then vanishes on side quests?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a division filled with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other rebuilders have clear trajectories. The New York Jets are stocked with upcoming selections. The Tennessee and New York have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No franchise QB. No distinctive style. No strategic vision.

The single factor more dangerous 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 summer.

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