Klint Kubiak Was Cardinals’ Preferred HC
During their search for a head coach to replace the fired Jonathan Gannon, the Cardinals identified NFC West offensive coordinators Klint Kubiak (Seahawks) and Mike LaFleur (Rams) as favorites. Both coaches interviewed with Arizona twice, but LaFleur was the pick after Kubiak agreed to take the Raiders’ job.
If the Cardinals had their way, they’d have hired Kubiak instead of LaFleur, an NFL general manager told Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom. They’d have been willing to wait until after the Super Bowl to make it official, as the Raiders did.
“Trust me, Kubiak was their guy,” said the GM, who also had interest in hiring Kubiak. “They would have done whatever they could to get him, but it wasn’t going to happen. They would have waited as long as it took. And then they had to scramble.”
The Cardinals aren’t known for spending big on head coaches or assistants, as La Canfora notes, but they’d have veered from their usual modus operandi in this instance. It’s easy to understand why Kubiak went in another direction, though, and it begins with the presence of influential Raiders minority owner and legendary quarterback Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion “made a unique appeal to Kubiak,” La Canfora writes.
In joining Brady and the Raiders, Kubiak will grab the reins of a team that could reel in a long-term quarterback solution with the first pick in this year’s draft. After winning the Heisman Trophy and national championship at Indiana in 2025, Fernando Mendoza is the overwhelming favorite to become a Raider in late April.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, don’t have an answer at the game’s foremost position. Although they drafted another former Heisman winner, Kyler Murray, first overall in 2019, they’re now hoping to trade him seven years later. Arizona joins Las Vegas in owning a premium draft pick (No. 3 overall), but barring an unexpected development, there isn’t a QB in this class worth taking that high. It’s not considered a strong group of signal-callers beyond Mendoza. That’s a harsh reality for the Cardinals and other QB-needy teams near the top of the first round.
In addition to the No. 1 pick in the draft, the Raiders possess the league’s second-most cap space ($91.52MM, per OverTheCap). The Cardinals are also in good shape in that regard, but at $42.19MM, they’re about $50MM behind the Raiders.
Both LaFleur and Kubiak have their work cut out in turning around long-suffering franchises, but it should be more difficult for the Cardinals. While Kubiak will walk into a very tough AFC West and battle the Broncos, Chargers and Chiefs, the NFC West was the best division in the league in 2025.
Kubiak’s Super Bowl-winning Seahawks, LaFleur’s Rams and the 49ers combined to go a dominant 38-13 in the regular season. All three swept the 3-14 Cardinals. Now, after losing out on Kubiak, the Cardinals are left to hope LaFleur will lead them out of the basement.
Raiders Rumors: Brady, Spytek, Whitmer
John Spytek was hired before Pete Carroll, who has since been fired. This year’s Raiders HC search — their fourth in the past five offseasons — will be the GM’s first with true involvement. Spytek was not involved in the Carroll hire last year, ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler and Ryan McFadden indicate in an expansive look at the Raiders’ present state of affairs.
The team hired Spytek two days before hiring Carroll last year. This is not uncommon for teams seeking to fill HC and GM positions in one offseason. Ryan Poles technically arrived before Matt Eberflus in 2022, but he was not a key player in that search. Spytek, though, is the point man for the Raiders in-house, as he is running things locally while Tom Brady — who has been involved from afar since being approved as a minority owner in fall 2024 — made “five or six” appearances at the team facility in 2025, Raiders left tackle Kolton Miller estimated.
[RELATED: Raiders Made Push For Jesse Minter]
Brady did play the lead role in the Raiders firing Tom Telesco and hiring Spytek, his former college teammate who later ended up in the Buccaneers’ front office during the QB legend’s Tampa stopover. Brady later led the Raiders’ pursuit of Ben Johnson and then played the central role in a failed Matthew Stafford recruitment. The 47-year-old QB retiree-turned-FOX analyst was believed to be against a Sam Darnold free agent signing, and he was a key figure in the trade for Geno Smith, per an agent of a Raiders player (via Kahler and McFadden). That certainly appeased Carroll, but the Carroll-Smith reunion backfired quickly.
Brady will continue to carry plenty of say with the Raiders, who are believed to be pursuing an offense-oriented HC to pair with expected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. But Spytek will be the one running things from inside, as Brady will continue with his FOX role for a third season in 2026.
“My preparation is very much centered around what I have to do in broadcasting,” Brady said of his Raiders role, via The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. “I love, obviously, having a chance to be involved with the Raiders. To be a former player and have a minority ownership is like a dream come true.
“I couldn’t afford to pay to be a general partner. I did very well in my career. It’s awesome to kind of help shape and strategize and be a visionary for a team. I love being involved in football.”
The Raiders will be expected to move on from Smith, who appears destined to follow Jimmy Garoppolo and Gardner Minshew as Vegas QB acquisitions to last one season. Although Smith signed a two-year, $75MM extension, it will cost the Raiders just $18.5MM in dead money to drop him. That amount would be lessened in the post-June 1 scenario.
Mendoza is the latest QB to rocket to the top sector of the draft with a dominant college season. The Raiders secured the No. 1 overall pick, shelving Brock Bowers and, more controversially, Maxx Crosby (who has since undergone knee surgery for an injury he believed he could play through), for the season’s final two games. One of Mendoza’s Indiana coaches, co-OC/QBs coach Chandler Whitmer is a name to monitor regarding a Raiders role, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore tweets.
Whitmer, 34, was on all three Brandon Staley Chargers staffs before landing with the Falcons in 2024. He joined the Hoosiers last year, and his role in Mendoza’s Heisman-winning season and the team’s 16-0 national championship season certainly brought a stock boost.
The Raiders, though, still have a head coach to hire before turning their attention to assistants. Brady heavily influenced Chip Kelly‘s move from the college ranks back to the NFL; that would make another college-to-NFL hire draw some scrutiny. The Raiders gave their one-and-done OC a $6MM-per-year deal only to fire him in-season. Kelly is now Northwestern’s OC.
Brian Flores, Brian Daboll On Raiders’ Radar?
The Raiders have fired a coach for the third time since Halloween 2023, making the expected move to oust Pete Carroll following a 3-14 season. Las Vegas is expectedly retaining GM John Spytek, and Tom Brady will of course be a central figure as the team pursues new sideline leadership.
The first of these recent HC firings removed Josh McDaniels from his position, with GM Dave Ziegler and OC Mick Lombardi booted as well. That effectively ended the Patriot Way in Las Vegas, but Brady’s arrival a year later may change that. Brady may be looking at some of his former coaches this time around.
Rumblings around the NFL have introduced Brian Flores as a candidate to become the next Raiders HC, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes, with Brian Daboll on the OC radar. Following that report, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson floated Flores and Daboll as staff options for the Raiders. Brady has a history with both.
Flores, 44, coached in New England from 2008-18, closing his chapter with a dominant defensive performance in Super Bowl LIII. With Flores as the de facto Patriot DC, the Rams scored three points in that game to give Brady a low bar to clear en route to his sixth Super Bowl win. The Dolphins soon hired Flores as HC.
Daboll, 50, enjoyed two stints with the Patriots. He was part of Bill Belichick‘s first staff back in 2000 and stayed on through 2006, collecting three Super Bowl rings during that period and ending his run as Pats wide receivers coach. Daboll returned to add two more rings while working as New England’s tight ends coach from 2013-16.
Flores has appeared on the HC carousel previously, though perhaps not as much as someone with his experience and credentials should have. Regarded as a top-tier defensive coordinator, Flores is presently suing the NFL and four teams for racial discrimination. A ruling this past summer will allow that lawsuit to proceed to open court, representing new territory for the league. A team hiring Flores as HC under these circumstances may be challenging to envision, and even conducting interviews may meet obstacles based on where the Vikings DC’s lawsuit is headed.
In Minnesota since 2023, Flores no longer has a Vikings contract. Mutual interest exists between the parties to continue working together, but Flores is a coaching free agent. This means the Vikes cannot block a lateral move, with SI.com’s Albert Breer noting DC-needy teams may pursue him. Flores could potentially be a defensive coordinator option in Vegas, depending on the team’s offer, but it would be expected he receives multiple lucrative proposals to leave Minnesota to lead a defense.
The Vikings ranked seventh in scoring defense this season and allowed the third-fewest yards. The latter number represents a significant improvement after a 16th-place finish in 2024. Flores could certainly challenge Vic Fangio to become the NFL’s highest-paid DC; that number is believed to be near $5MM. The Vikings will probably need to go near or beyond that territory to retain Flores.
Flores and Brady are believed to have a good relationship, per Florio, who adds the former Dolphins HC was onboard with bringing in Brady — assuming he kept the Miami job beyond the 2021 season. But Flores’ ensuing lawsuit bombshell and tanking allegations against Stephen Ross scuttled the Dolphins’ rumored plan to bring in Brady — amid retirement No. 1 — and Sean Payton in 2022. Brady circling back to Flores after that would be interesting, and Mark Davis signing off on more ex-Patriots staffers would qualify as unusual given how poorly the McDaniels-Ziegler experiment went. But Davis has entrusted Brady with plenty of responsibility since the NFL approved his minority stake.
It is quite possible Flores will be stuck on the coordinator level thanks to his lawsuit. Teams will be leery of meeting with him after he used private conversations with owners as ammunition to craft a lawsuit, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert adds. Part of Flores’ lawsuit touches on the Giants hiring Daboll over him in 2022. That pair of ex-Belichick lieutenants reuniting in Vegas would be quite interesting through that lens.
Daboll, however, is on track to receive OC interest after three-plus years as the Giants’ HC. Daboll has been an NFL OC on four occasions, and he called Giants plays in 2024. The recently fired HC’s experience will be a plus for coordinator interest, and the Raiders will surely not be the only team to call him in for an interview. Whichever OC candidate lands that job could soon be working with a quarterback drafted first overall.
Raiders Expected To Fire HC Pete Carroll
A clear majority of PFR’s readers believe Pete Carroll will be a one-and-done head coach in Vegas. Signs continue to point in that direction. 
Carroll is expected to be dismissed following Week 18, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports. A departure could still come in the form of retirement, NFL insider Jordan Schultz adds. In any case, yet another Raiders coaching search appears to be forthcoming.
Owner Mark Davis has not yet stated which way he is leaning to anyone in the organization, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Their report nevertheless confirms Carroll is set to be replaced this offseason. With Vegas on track to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, meanwhile, a major reset will likely be in store over the coming months.
Carroll has been “fighting for another year” at the helm of the Raiders, per the NFLN report. The 2025 season has been messy to say the least, however, with two coordinators being fired in the middle of the campaign. Vegas’ offense has struggled throughout the season, and selecting a rookie at the top of the draft could allow for the team to move in a new direction for 2026 and beyond. At the age of 74, Carroll naturally does not profile as a candidate regarding a long-term overhaul.
A win-now campaign (or at least something close to it) was the goal with Carroll, first-year general manager John Spytek, minority owner Tom Brady and veteran quarterback Geno Smith being brought in last offseason. The reunion between Carroll and Smith has not yielded the desired results, and Vegas enters tomorrow’s action with 14 losses – including 10 in a row. Widespread evaluations of coaching and quarterback options will become a central priority provided the Raiders do indeed make a change on the sidelines.
Jones, Schultz and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer note Brady is set to play a leading role in not only the HC search but also the process of evaluating quarterback options. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is known to be a central voice in the Raiders’ decision-making, and that should be expected to remain the case for the foreseeable future. As Michael Silver of The Athletic writes (subscription required), Davis has treated Brady as the “de facto boss” of the team with respect to football matters. Per Silver, even some inside the organization are unsure of who is behind certain decisions given the Davis-Brady dynamic.
Stability in the front office over an extended period would of course be welcomed in the Raiders’ case considering the changes which have been commonplace on that front over time. A long-running cycle of moves on the sidelines has defined the franchise as well, and it seems as though another reset in that regard is imminent.
Tom Brady Strongly Influenced Raiders’ Chip Kelly Hire; Latest On Pete Carroll
The Raiders have somehow regressed despite moving from the Gardner Minshew/Aidan O’Connell quarterback situation to Geno Smith, with the Antonio Pierce-to-Pete Carroll transition also failing to move the needle in the win column. One domino has already fallen in Las Vegas, as Chip Kelly is out as OC. More may well be positioned to topple soon.
Kelly had loomed as a Raiders OC target for two offseasons, being hired shortly after the team installed Carroll as HC. Minority owner Tom Brady is believed to have wielded strong influence in the Kelly hire, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. This is unsurprising given how much power Brady is believed to have in Vegas, and Russini adds Mark Davis‘ preferred football czar is frustrated with the team’s overall performance.
Brady’s frustration likely contributed to the team’s decision to fire Kelly. It has now been three straight years of a Raiders OC being dismissed in-season. The team canned Mick Lombardi shortly after firing Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler in 2023, and Pierce booted Luke Getsy midway through the 2024 campaign. With Smith taking 10 sacks in an abysmal loss to the Browns, the Raiders acted early yet again. Kelly, who became the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator (at $6MM per year), is an NFL one-and-done once again. His most recent NFL post, as 49ers HC in 2016, ended after one year.
The Raiders firing Kelly now strips Carroll from having the chance to make this move in the offseason. Such an effort occurring then would have given the veteran leader a chance to frame that move as a way to convince Brady, Davis and GM John Spytek positive 2026 change would take place. With the firing coming in November, will Carroll have a chance to return as HC in 2026?
Some around the NFL are wondering if Carroll will join Kelly as a Raiders one-and-done, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. The oldest HC in NFL history, the 74-year-old sideline staple has not come especially close to being the floor-raising presence expected in Vegas.
The Raiders made a stark pivot to Carroll after losing out on Ben Johnson, a coach Brady aggressively pursued this offseason (though, the team was not believed to have made an offer to the now-Bears HC). The team is 2-9 and ranks 31st in scoring offense (a unit that ranks 32nd in EPA per play). While EPA slots Patrick Graham‘s defense 20th, the Raiders have lost six games by double figures and have only beaten the one-win Titans since what looks to be a fluky Week 1 triumph in New England.
Carroll, who also fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon this month, is on a three-year contract that carries an option for a fourth season. Most HC deals cover five or six years, but Carroll’s age undoubtedly factored into the Raiders’ thinking upon designing this deal. No clear succession plan appeared to exist, and with the Raiders at two wins by Thanksgiving, it would shock if Carroll’s replacement was on staff.
Carroll also holds considerably less power than he did in Seattle, with Brady and Spytek heavily involved. Carroll held final roster say with the Seahawks; the 2024 Seattle change was partially structured around John Schneider receiving a chance to fully steer the ship. Brady is highly unlikely to be going anywhere, so the all-time QB great’s fingerprints figure to be on the coaching situation. Carroll, who sat out the 2024 season but became intrigued with the Raiders once Brady was approved as a part-owner, may well be coaching for his job down the stretch this season.
NFL Addresses Tom Brady Conflict-Of-Interest Matter; Teams Express Concern About Raiders Owner’s Dual Role
Rarely able to watch the Raiders play in-person due to a high-profile second job, Tom Brady did survey the team he partially owns Monday night in Las Vegas. ESPN cameras spotting the QB legend-turned-owner/broadcaster in the coaches’ booth has drawn expected scrutiny.
Brady watching the Raiders-Chargers matchup from the coaches’ booth would certainly not be cause for concern if he only served as a Raiders minority owner; being in Year 2 as FOX’s top color analyst has triggered pushback — to the point another NFL statement on the matter surfaced.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” an NFL spokesman said in a statement (via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones). “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.
“… Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings. He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
While the NFL’s Brady policy of sorts prohibits him from attending production meetings with coaches and players onsite, the league made a notable change this offseason by allowing him to attend them virtually. Last year, Brady could serve as FOX’s lead analyst but could not attend production meetings. The image of Brady in the coaches’ booth Monday reignited the uproar about this conflict of interest.
The league’s ownership contingent had continued to delay Brady’s Raiders stake from being approved. While Mark Davis‘ stake price was part of a stalling effort that lasted over a year, the eventual approval last fall came with stipulations regarding the 23-year QB veteran’s FOX gig.
Brady has not entered another team’s facility due to that part of his rule set remaining in place, but he has been given access to remote production meetings. Concerns about this part of the popular announcer/owner’s deal are still generating issues from other teams, according to the Washington Post’s Mark Maske, Tashan Reed and Ben Strauss. Though, a high-ranking team official told the Post the NFL has dismissed other clubs’ concerns about this “unfair” Brady arrangement.
Several owners were hesitant to approve Brady’s dual role, per the Post. That was effectively understood due to the length of time between Brady’s stake agreement (May 2023) and its unanimous approval (October 2024). Since, Brady has taken on a lead role in Raiders personnel.
Although Brady’s day-to-day Raiders role remains murky, Mark Davis had said he wanted him front and center for the team’s QB and HC searches. Brady input led to the Raiders firing GM Tom Telesco after one season (the one-and-done Vegas GM is now working at Sirius XM Radio), and the Spytek hire came after he and Brady both overlapped with the Buccaneers and as Michigan teammates decades ago. Brady also led the Raiders’ recruitment of Matthew Stafford during trade negotiations, and the former AFC East mainstay’s hesitation on Sam Darnold led Las Vegas to go another way at QB.
With Brady heavily involved in Raiders matters, his broadcast team will naturally be unlikely to receive many useful nuggets during pregame production meetings. Brady called the Commanders-Giants’ Week 1 matchup; the Raiders face Washington in Week 3. In Week 4, Brady will call the Cowboys-Bears game before seeing the Raiders face the Bears in Week 5.
While Ben Johnson — whom Brady used his FOX job to scout as a hopeful Raiders HC option last year — downplayed this conflict of interest, ESPN’s Peter Schrager said OC Chip Kelly told him he discusses film and the gameplan with Brady two or three times per week. Pete Carroll then denied Brady’s Kelly meetings occur that frequently, per Maske, Reed and Strauss. The NFL, per Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, also deleted a tweet about the Brady-Kelly conversations.
“We have conversations. I talk to Tom, and Chip talks to Tom regularly,” Carroll said. “We have a tremendous asset, and we all get along well and respect each other. And so, we just talk about life and football and whatever comes. He has great insight, so we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
Teams are also leery with regards to future Raiders free agency pursuits, according to Jones, as pregame meetings could help the minority owner — though, perhaps not substantially — file information away for his team down the line. Information regarding teams’ values of certain players would stand to be another potential issue here. But this matter continues to be one the NFL is willing to live with in exchange for having Brady continue to play prominent roles.
Tom Brady Broadcasting Restrictions Lifted
When Tom Brady began to pursue an ownership stake in the Raiders as he approached his first season as a broadcaster for FOX Sports, the NFL took note of the potential conflict of interest and installed several rules in response.
Among them was a ban on attending pre-game production meetings with players and coaches from both teams. That restriction has now been lifted, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
Previously, Brady had to get notes from a classmate – in this case, his broadcasting partner Kevin Burkhardt – to inform his color commentary. The league made an exception for the Super Bowl in February, which will now become a permanent rule.
Brady is still barred from stepping foot in other teams’ facilities or attending their practices, as he was last year. He must also continue to adhere to NFL rules that prohibit owners from publicly criticizing officials or other teams. Given Brady’s role as an analyst, he received some leeway on that front.
Other team owners – particularly the Chiefs’ Clark Hunt – insisted on Brady’s restrictions entering his first season as a broadcaster, but the NFL seems to have assessed his commentary and his role in Las Vegas and determined that the potential conflict of interest is not a major concern.
Brady has described himself as a “sounding board”, though he was reportedly instrumental in the Raiders’ organizational overhaul this offseason, helping land a triumvirate of new leadership in head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek, and quarterback Geno Smith.
Texans Sign DT Marlon Davidson, Place Rookie DT On IR
An injury to seventh-round rookie defensive tackle Kyonte Hamilton led to a successful surgery today, and the Texans already found his replacement, signing veteran defensive tackle Marlon Davidson, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. With Hamilton hitting injured reserve after the surgery, Davidson’s spot on the roster was earned after a successful workout with the team. 
Hamilton, a productive interior lineman at Rutgers last year, was carted off the field Wednesday with what appeared to be a significant lower leg injury. After being diagnosed with a fractured ankle and getting scheduled for surgery, it was determined that Hamilton was destined for IR with a potential four-month recovery on deck.
Davidson comes in as the next man up. After appearing in only eight games as a rookie, the second-round pick out of Auburn’s role grew a quite a bit in Year 2. Despite a few spurts of absences forcing him to miss six more games, Davidson found himself with a much larger snap share. In a Week 2 matchup, he recorded his first sack on Tom Brady, and in a Week 13 rematch, Davidson recorded a pick six off the arm of the future Hall of Famer.
Davidson’s NFL career has come crashing down ever since. Prior to the start of the 2022 NFL season, Davidson underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and was placed on IR. Already on the roster bubble due to his frequent absences, Davidson was cut by the team the following month. He rebounded in the offseason, signing with the 49ers, but was relegated to the practice squad after failing to make the initial 53-man roster and released four weeks into the season.
Once again, Davidson found a new spot on the Titans’ practice squad. He would get called up to the active roster near the end of the season and actually ended up starting the final three games of 2023 in Tennessee. The Titans re-signed him in the offseason, but they placed him on IR with a biceps tear in the preseason. He remained there the entirety of the 2024 season.
Now he’ll get another new chance in Houston. As Hamilton goes down for the next four months, Davidson comes in to fill out the position group during training camp. If he wants any chance at making the 53-man roster to stay with the Texans, he’s going to have to show he can stay healthy.
Tom Brady Clarifies Raiders Role, Describes Himself As “Sounding Board”
While much has been made of Tom Brady‘s influence as a minority owner of the Raiders, the iconic quarterback was quick to clarify his position in the franchise’s hierarchy. During a recent chat with Paul Gutierrez of the team’s website, Brady simply described himself as a “sounding board” for the organization’s true decision makers.
“Well, I’m just a limited partner, so Mark’s the boss,” Brady said. “And then Pete does his job and Spy does his job and, I think, we trust them to make the right decisions. I’m there as a great sounding board for anything they want to do.”
As Brady noted, majority owner Mark Davis still calls the shots, and the team is clearly empowering new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek to shape the roster as they want. Of course, Brady’s fingerprints are still all over the Raiders organization, and there were reports of his influence over offseason personnel moves.
We heard that Brady’s arrival in Las Vegas played a big role in Carroll signing on, and the seven-time Super Bowl winner also reportedly had a major say on the team’s approach to the quarterback position. Brady reportedly pushed for a Matthew Stafford acquisition, and we heard recently that he rejected a pursuit of free agent Sam Darnold. The team ultimately landed on Geno Smith as a temporary stopgap at the position, and the veteran acknowledged that the entire new regime (including Brady) played a role in his decision to sign an extension.
Even if Brady wants to assign credit elsewhere, he was still involved in many of the organization’s other offseason moves. While the team’s new HC/GM tandem and quarterback commanded attention, the team also stole headlines by signing free agent linebacker Devin White and using the sixth-overall pick on dynamic running back Ashton Jeanty.
“I’ve loved it,” Brady said of the Raiders’ offseason. “And, again, just trying to contribute in the ways that I can to help the team be the best they can be, on and off the field. We’ve got a great group of people. I love Mark. He’s done an incredible job getting the team to Vegas, getting the stadium built.”
Tom Brady Preferred Raiders Avoid Signing Sam Darnold
With the Vikings electing to hand the reins over to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, Sam Darnold predictably departed on the open market this offseason. The latter wound up taking a three-year deal with the Seahawks to assume starting quarterback duties.
Before that took place, Darnold was linked to a number of potential suitors as the top signal-caller in free agency. The Raiders were among the teams which made a notable move under center this spring, trading for Geno Smith once it became clear he and the Seahawks were not close on extension terms. Darnold’s predecessor is now on the books with Vegas thanks to the new regime which is overseeing the franchise.
That setup includes head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady. Once the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s ownership bid was approved, he immediately took on a notable role within the organization. Brady has been heavily involved in a number of Raiders decisions this offseason, and to little surprise that includes the acquisition of a new starting quarterback.
On that note, Mike Silver of the Athletic reports Brady did not support Vegas signing Darnold in free agency (subscription required). 2024 saw the former No. 3 pick enjoy an impressive run with the Vikings up to the team’s regular season finale and wild-card loss. Darnold nevertheless secured $100.5MM on his Seattle pact, one which contains a potential out as early as next March. Instead of making a similar investment, the Raiders traded for Smith and extended him on a two-year, $75MM pact.
That move will give Vegas short-term stability under center as the team looks to compete in the AFC West beginning in 2025. At the age of 28, Darnold is six years younger than Smith but the latter has experience working with Carroll dating back to their time together in Seattle. A productive reunion between the two would help a Raiders offense which finished 29th in scoring last season.
Of course, Carroll and Spytek were heavily involved in the decision to trade for Smith and thus settle the QB spot for the time being. The fact Brady preferred not to go the Darnold route was no doubt something which carried considerable weight, though, and it will be a factor in evaluating how the Raiders’ approach winds up playing out.