Tom Brady may have influenced the Las Vegas Raiders' decision not to pursue Sam Darnold in free agency. According to The Athletic's Michael Silver, Brady "was not in favor" of the Raiders attempting to sign Darnold. Brady has been a minority owner of the Raiders since last October. Silver noted that his "opinion held great sway" with the franchise.

Although the Raiders didn't really give any consideration to signing Darnold, they did end up adding a veteran quarterback when they made a trade for Geno Smith in March. The Raiders sent a 2025 third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Smith, who will be reuniting with new Raiders coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.

This offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders knew that they had to do something at the quarterback position. Last season was a disaster at the quarterback position and