The idea of Tom Brady spending the final years of his playing career in Las Vegas apparently was far from a long shot.
That’s according to Raiders tight end Darren Waller, who recently addressed a long-circulating rumor that Brady was this close to joining the team following two decades in New England before the plan was allegedly thwarted by then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
“I’ve heard it from multiple sources that I respect and I’ve been close to,” Waller told Forbes last week. “They’re like, ‘Yeah, Brady to the Raiders was a lock.’”
Brady, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, ultimately joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and won his seventh and final championship in his first season in Tampa. The 45-year-old quarterback called it a career earlier this month after 23 seasons in the league.
Prior to the start of the 2022 regular season, UFC president Dana White shed light on Brady’s apparent path to the Raiders, which also allegedly included the quarterback’s former teammate and friend, tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders,” White said in August during an appearance on “UFC 278 with the Gronks.”
“It was almost a done deal. At the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want them.”
Gruden returned to the Raiders for his second coaching stint with the team in 2018 with quarterback Derek Carr at the helm. Three years later, however, Gruden resigned after being embroiled in an email scandal, in which it was revealed he used homophobic and misogynistic language in messages over a seven-year period.
Carr, who was drafted by the Raiders in 2014, remained with the team up until last week, when he was released. He has been courted by the Saints and most recently, the Jets.
Regarding the future at quarterback for the Raiders, Waller — who signed a three-year, $51 million contract extension with the team in September — said, “I have no input. So I’m waiting to see what happens just like everyone else.”
Should a certain Packers quarterback be moved in the offseason, the 30-year-old Waller would welcome the addition.
“Anybody who’s ever played football would be on board with Aaron Rodgers coming to the team,” he said. “If he comes to the team, I will not be disappointed.”