Tom Brady committed over two decades to a singular mission: establishing himself as the most accomplished QB in league history. He accomplished that goal. Today, in retirement, Brady has explored numerous pursuits. He serves as a commentator for a major network. He's engaged in construction projects in the UK. He has endorsed cryptocurrency. He's expanding the NFL to the Middle East. He maintains a successful YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's retirement activities appear either eclectic or aimless, depending on your viewpoint.
Side projects are understandable. But overseeing a professional franchise is hardly a casual commitment. In addition to his other roles, Brady functions as the de facto decision-maker for the Raiders, presently the least successful team in the league.
The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a decisive loss to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just get defeated; they were humiliated by a underperforming team with a quarterback making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before garbage-time action in the fourth quarter. Geno Smith was tackled 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a season record for any team this year. On defense, Las Vegas allowed significant gains to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for most of the season. However you analyze it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to witness it. The primary decision-maker of this current situation was working in Dallas on the network coverage for another game.
In fairness to Brady, he has only spent one season leading the team's personnel choices, becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last offseason, and each one has backfired. Those moves have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless team in the league.
This wasn't supposed to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire veteran coach Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a NCAA title, to oversee a protracted process back up the league table. He was supposed to return the team to relevance and then transition them with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is facing the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.
This is not all Brady's fault, naturally. Mark Davis is still the controlling stakeholder. Davis has churned through head coaches and executives at a speed that would make even the New York Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has erased any clear strategic direction. 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 integrally involved," Carroll stated of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a franchise."
Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this directionless path. He appointed a close associate, his former teammate and co-worker in Tampa, to serve as GM. He approved a roster plan to Carroll's preference, including dealing a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a RB with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the highest-paid OC in the NFL. And he approved handing a unreliable blocking unit – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to Carroll's son.
It has become a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were scrappy and competitive. This year's Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive scheme, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the snaps to the conclusion of the game.
The contrast with Cleveland was stark. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the league single-season record, 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 running back and a skilled defender at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.
Granted, it was against the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not overwhelming for him. With a full week to prepare, he was solid, accepting what the defense gave him and showing glimpses of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his debut game since 1995.
The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a reflection the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises recognize their situation in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a couple of moves away from competitiveness. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they failed to adjust midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out rookies to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two rookies have seen real playing time. There has reportedly already been tension between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-line being a sieve. Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine catches in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize grizzled vets on defense over rookies in need of reps.
Where is the future direction? Will the coach return or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a team operate when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on other projects?
It will prove a challenge for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division filled with perennial playoff contenders. At the same time, other rebuilders have paths. The New York Jets are loaded with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No quarterback. No identity. No plan.
The only thing more problematic than being ineffective in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are building, or who will call the shots in the offseason.
Tom Brady once mastered football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than an hour of it.
A software engineer and tech writer passionate about open-source projects and AI advancements.
