Tom Brady to the Dolphins? Source: Getty Images Once Brady becomes a free agent, he’ll have to make a decision to either return for a 24th season or retire for good — which is something he said in October wasn’t in his future.
If Brady were to continue playing, would he stay with Tampa Bay or join another team? While that remains to be seen, there are a few teams reportedly interested in making a play for the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.
Last week, multiple reports linked Brady to the Raiders, who are likely parting ways with their quarterback of nine years, Derek Carr, after a benching him for the final two games of the regular season.
“I do think the Raiders would be one of the possibilities if Tom Brady plays next season,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last Wednesday.
Two days later, NFL reporter Albert Breer said the Raiders are “doing their research” on Brady.
“I can tell you unequivocally, like, this is a fact: The Raiders are looking into it. The Raiders are looking into going and acquiring Tom Brady,” Breer said Friday on “The Dan Patrick Show.”.
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Although Carr is not a free agent — he is under a lucrative contract for three more years — the quarterback posted a goodbye letter to Raider Nation on Thursday, saying he is looking forward to a new city and a new team.
Carr, whom the Raiders drafted in the second round in 2014, is under contract through 2025 after agreeing to a three-year, $121.5 million extension in April. That said, he has no guaranteed money left on his deal and the team can move on from him fairly easily.
Earlier this month, Carr’s brother David — a former NFL quarterback who was the first overall pick of the Houston Texans in 2002 and currently serves as an analyst for NFL Network — said the Raiders will seek to trade him.
Could Brady return to his old stomping grounds in New England?
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In November, Brady was linked to his former Patriots team, for which he won six titles alongside New England coach Bill Belichick. At the time, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, who covered the team from 2009-21, wrote, “Don’t ever write off the Patriots” as Brady’s next landing spot.
Howe went on to explain that the former quarterback-coach duo “still have an abundance of respect for one another.” That became evident by their numerous pleasant exchanges after Brady left the Patriots for Tampa Bay in March 2020 — including a private meeting in the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium following Brady’s return in October 2021.
Trades cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 15, though they can be agreed to before then.
During Monday’s episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast on SiriusXM, Brady — who retired from the NFL last February only to return 40 days later — shed some light on his football future.
“I think the most important thing is the day after the season, and I made this mistake,” Brady said while discussing Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose NFL future remains unclear. “is not to decide the future.”
