NFL rumors: Raiders pursued Tom Brady before Jimmy Garoppolo

The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly looked into signing Tom Brady before he retired and they went after Jimmy Garoppolo.

Jimmy Garoppolo is the new starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, but if Tom Brady hadn't retired, that might not have been the case, according to a report from The Athletic's Tashan Reed and Jeff Howe.

“The most logical path forward was to pursue Tom Brady,” they wrote about the Raiders' offseason on Saturday. “He was in the midst of leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs for a third consecutive season, but it was the worst-kept secret in the NFL that it would be his final season with the franchise. Yes, he was a 45-year-old quarterback, but he was obviously still a damn good 45-year-old quarterback.”

The two assert that the connection between Brady and the Raiders wasn't a difficult one to make. Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels won six Super bowls as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots, and helped to produce some of the NFL's best offenses while working alongside Brady.

“Beyond that, Brady also maintained a strong relationship with [general manager Dave] Ziegler — a longtime Patriots executive — and several other members of the front office,” wrote Reed and Howe.

“It would be relatively easy for the Raiders to acquire Brady. Regardless of if they traded or cut Carr, they were set to free up about $30 million in cap space. In his final year in Tampa Bay, Brady made $30 million. In short, if Brady wanted to come, the Raiders could make it happen.”

Obviously, the door was shut on that when Tom Brady decided to retire “for good” on Feb. 1, and he's made it clear he has no plans to return to the game of football. But at the time, the Raiders hadn't reached any sort of resolution with quarterback Derek Carr, as he wasn't released until Feb. 14.

Reed and Howe explain that it's possible the Raiders looked into both Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson, but that the price was too steep.

Now, it's 31-year-old Jimmy Garoppolo who will lead the charge in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future. Garoppolo led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season, and he has made it clear that's his goal with the Raiders.