Tom Brady Return? There’s One Obvious Landing Spot For Patriots Legend

Tom Brady probably won’t unretire again… right?

The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback teased an NFL return during a recent podcast appearance, but it’s still hard to imagine Brady heading back onto the gridiron in 2024.

For one, he’ll be 47 years old and didn’t play last season. Even the greatest QB of all time must know his limitations. And two, there are very few teams positioned to sign someone like Brady, either because they already have a franchise signal-caller or are counting on a rookie to usher in a new era.

Take the Patriots, for example. While many New Englanders surely would welcome Brady back with open arms, there’s a strong argument against even entertaining the idea. The Pats instead should focus on developing Drake Maye — the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — as they embark upon what could be a multiyear rebuild under new head coach Jerod Mayo.

That said, there is one obvious landing spot if Brady actually wanted to unretire. And he just so happens to be in the process of becoming a minority owner of the team.

We’re, of course, talking about the Las Vegas Raiders.

NESN’s Mike Cole and Ricky Doyle kicked around a few Brady hypotheticals on this week’s episode of “The Spread” podcast, and the latter explained why Las Vegas makes a ton of sense if Brady suddenly gets a football itch that needs to be scratched.

“Coming out of the draft with no quarterback, you’re sitting there empty-handed,” Doyle said. “Solid wide receivers, with Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, a guy he played with. Brock Bowers is kinda that Gronk role. They drafted a tight end (Michael Mayer in the second round) last year. Obviously improved defensively (toward the end of last season). I think the door’s open a little bit in the AFC West. It’s Chiefs and everybody else. So, maybe you become the second-best team in that division — might be a playoff team. Might be a playoff team. Just saying. Raiders, the one team I’ve got circled.”

The Raiders struck out on selecting a quarterback in the NFL draft, as six QBs — Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders), Maye (Patriots), Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta Falcons), J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings) and Bo Nix (Denver Broncos) — flew off the board before Las Vegas’ first-round pick at No. 13. As such, their depth chart at the position is led by Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Not exactly Tom Brady.

Could that motivate the Raiders to make a splash in the form of TB12? Again, unlikely. Brady seems to be doing just fine in retirement. But never say never, right? He already came back once. Who’s to say the fire inside him won’t reignite as training camp and the preseason inch closer?

And what better place to roll the dice than Sin City?