Is Tom Brady to Be Blamed for the Raiders’ 2–10 Record?

For most of the offseason, the narrative surrounding Tom Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders minority ownership was that he wouldn’t just be a silent partner. In fact, he was primed to be the central architect in the team’s football operations.

Reports detailed Brady’s fingerprints on nearly every major decision. He was involved in firing HC Antonio Pierce and GM Tom Telesco. He sat on hiring panels for their replacements and courted QB Geno Smith with HC Pete Carroll.

The former NFL star also pushed for structural investment, attended meetings and practices, and, as Mark Davis himself admitted, was given a “huge voice” intended to reshape the franchise’s infrastructure.

In other words, Tom Brady, in many ways, was acting like a de facto team-builder. Which brings us to the present: the Raiders currently sit at 2-10, are losers of six straight, and have dropped 10 of their last 11. They also have the league’s worst offensive line, a defense that surrendered 192 rushing yards to the Chargers last week, and an offense that struggles to score even 15 points per game.

Under normal circumstances, when a franchise collapses this dramatically, scrutiny is inevitable. But Emmy-winning reporter Jesse Merrick argues that one man has mysteriously avoided it.

“I think the thing with Brady is… if the Raiders were playing well, the narrative would be like, Tom Brady pulling the strings behind the scenes, how great he’s been. And now that they’re doing poorly, I think he kind of has gotten a bit of a pass, which I think is unfair,” Merrick said.

His frustration is simple: you cannot celebrate TB12’s influence when things look promising, but absolve him when they don’t. Especially when, as Merrick emphasized, “all the talk all offseason was how much Tom had his hands in everything that was going on.”

If he played a major role in picking the coach, the GM, and the quarterback plan, then accountability should naturally follow the results of those decisions. So, Merrick believes the public conversation should sound more like: “Hey, what the hell, Tom Brady?”

Boston-based podcaster Matt Perrault pushed this thought further, arguing that Brady’s dual life is now part of the problem. “He gets the pass because, ‘Oh, he’s a broadcaster’… Well, okay, where are your priorities, Tom? You can’t have it both ways,” he said.

Perrault’s criticism focuses on the point that Brady cannot claim he’s too busy calling games to know what’s happening inside the building while simultaneously preaching about burning things to the ground and rebuilding.

“If you’re going to say those things publicly, get out of the booth, get in the ownership room, get in the building, be seen, be accountable… I don’t believe you can be an owner and a broadcaster at the same time,” Perrault argued.

Whether Brady steps further into the building or steps away from day-to-day influence, one thing is clear: the Raiders’ 2-10 record didn’t happen without him. And for the first time all year, more voices are beginning to say it out loud.