When Mark Davis agreed to let Tom Brady buy a minority stake in his Las Vegas Raiders, he had many roles in mind for his new partner. In a voice memo that surfaced recently, Davis was heard saying that TB12 would have a significant influence on personnel decisions, especially regarding quarterbacks. That’s why Mike Florio believes Brady played a role in the Raiders passing on Shedeur Sanders seven times during the draft.
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Brady himself has claimed that he had no involvement in the selection process. During an interview with Logan Paul, he shared, “I wasn’t part of any evaluation process. I actually texted Shedeur cause I know him very well.”
“I said, dude, whatever happens wherever you go, that’s your first day. Day 2 matters more than the draft. I was 199, so who could speak on it better than me, like what that really means? Use it as motivation, you’re gonna get your chances, go take advantage of it,” he added. However, Florio isn’t buying what Brady is selling.
Florio is certain that Tom is lying about his role and wasn’t afraid to call him out live on his show.
“Now you could say, well, they picked a quarterback in Geno Smith, and Geno is going to be the quarterback for the foreseeable future,” Florio admitted. “But the way his contract is structured, and he’s in his mid-30s, and Tom Brady knows Shedeur Sanders well. Why aren’t you involved in evaluating? Especially as the draft lingers, they passed on him 7 times. At some point, you take a flyer on the guy.”
Florio went on to mention that Brady was reportedly involved in the quarterback evaluation of Tommy Mellott, a prospect out of Montana State whom the Raiders selected in the 6th round. So, what gives? Why was he involved in evaluating a lesser-known prospect from Montana but not one of the biggest prospects in Shedeur?
Well, Florio thinks Brady was involved, and he wasn’t sold on Shedeur’s talent. He also believes that Brady is now trying to save face to stay close to the Sanders family.
“Tom Brady knows. He’s not telling the truth, and he’s doing what he can to not undermine his relationship with Shedeur Sanders. Or his relationship with his father, Deion,” Florio argued.
Florio went on to say that this is exactly what teams worried about when drafting Shedeur. They were concerned that if the team said anything critical about him publicly, Deion would be right there to administer backlash. It seems Brady was afraid of that happening too.
It’s hard to ignore what Florio puts forth. Brady and Shedeur had a great relationship leading up to the draft, and Mark Davis made it indelibly clear that the GOAT was involved in quarterback evaluations.
Given Brady’s inside knowledge as Shedeur’s mentor, one has to wonder if the Raiders’ passing on the quarterback 7 times was due to Brady’s advice. As Florio said, at some point, you take a flyer on Shedeur with a low-stakes pick.
