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Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a unwavering mission: becoming the most accomplished QB in NFL history. He achieved that dream. Today, in retirement, Brady has explored numerous pursuits. He works as a commentator for a major network. He's engaged in construction projects in Birmingham. He has promoted cryptocurrency. He's spreading American football to the Middle East. He operates a popular YouTube channel. He even cloned his family pet. Brady's retirement activities appear either diverse or aimless, depending on your viewpoint.

Side projects are understandable. But overseeing a professional franchise is hardly a casual commitment. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady also serves as the de facto decision-maker for the Las Vegas franchise, presently the most hapless team in the league.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on this past weekend after suffering a decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a QB making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged 2.9 yards per play before meaningless plays in the final period. Their quarterback was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a season record for any franchise this season. On the defensive side, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offensive unit that has been dysfunctional for most of the campaign. However you analyze it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The architect of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Series of Dubious Decisions

To be fair to Brady, he has only been involved for a year guiding the team's personnel choices, after becoming a minority owner of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every significant move last summer, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have resulted in the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't supposed to be a lengthy reconstruction. The Raiders didn't appoint veteran coach Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a Super Bowl and a NCAA title, to oversee a protracted process back up the standings. He was supposed to restore the team to relevance and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the prospect of being one-and-done in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Dysfunction

This is not all Brady's fault, naturally. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through coaches and executives at a speed that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh coach and fifth GM in 15 years, a instability that has erased any clear strategic direction. Nevertheless, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this version of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," league reporter a prominent journalist commented last summer. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll stated of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a team."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He approved a roster plan to the coach's specifications, including dealing a third-round pick for Geno Smith and selecting a RB No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He lured Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid OC in the NFL. And he approved handing a flaky offensive line – the bedrock for that coach and ball carrier – to the coach's family member.

Catastrophic Results

It has become a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a team with limited success, but they were competitive and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has installed an outdated defensive scheme, Smith looks washed and the Raiders' offensive line has undermined any aspirations for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. If nothing else, Carroll was supposed to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, counting down the plays to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Their star defender, now just five quarterback takedowns away from the league single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is positive outlook around the impressive first-year players that includes multiple promising talents – Quinshon Judkins at running back and a skilled defender at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be The Answer at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the stage was not overwhelming for him. With a full week to prepare, he was effective, accepting what the opposition gave him and showing glimpses of improvisation. Sanders became the first Cleveland rookie QB to win his debut game since 1995.

Lack of Vision

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players represent future potential. That's a reflection the Raiders should avoid. Successful franchises understand their position in the ecosystem: you're either a contender, a competitive squad, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas began the season thinking they were a couple of moves away from respectability. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they haven't pivoted midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing young players to discover what they have for the future. But only two rookies have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been disagreement between the coaching staff and the front office regarding the limited playing time for two young blockers, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers two young talents have combined for nine catches in eleven contests, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to roll out experienced veterans on the defensive side over young players in need of experience.

Uncertain Future

What is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or the quarterback? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a franchise function when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, approves franchise-altering moves, and then vanishes on side quests?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to get better – and they are in a division filled with perennial playoff contenders. Meanwhile, other rebuilders have paths. The New York Jets are stocked with future draft picks. The Tennessee and New York have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No foundation. No quarterback. No identity. No plan.

The single factor more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not knowing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will call the shots in the offseason.

Tom Brady once mastered football through intense dedication. The Raiders could use more than limited attention of it.