There has been speculation that Tom Brady could play for the Las Vegas Raiders while being a minority owner of the franchise. Odds are that likely won’t happen, but if Jimmy Garopolpo can’t play for the Raiders this year, the team could call on the seven-time Super Bowl Champion to be the man under center. Legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman spoke to TMZ Sports about the situation and said he’s not ruling anything out when it comes to Brady returning.
“I don’t want to speak for Tom,” Aikman said. I wouldn’t rule anything out.” Aikman doesn’t want to count out Brady because he keeps himself in shape and has a great relationship with Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. “I would bet that just nothing is off the table,” Aikman said, “as far as what may occur during the season or what Tom’s role may be.”
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In March, Garoppolo signed a three-year, $75 million contract with the Raiders. But the former New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers quarterback had surgery on his foot shortly after signing his contract. According to ESPN, Garoppolo signed a waiver in place of his physical, and the Raiders could terminate the contract for any reason related to the waiver.
Per The Athletic, Garoppolo’s injury happened on Dec. 6 while playing with the 49ers. Garoppolo was told at the time he didn’t need surgery, and he was planning to return to the 49ers if they reached the Super Bowl. When Garoppolo arrived at Raiders’ headquarters on March 16, he did not sign his contract, leading to some speculation about his health. It was reported that the Raiders discovered that Garoppolo needed foot surgery which was done after his introductory press conference.
McDaniels is confident that Garoppolo will be ready to play when the season begins in September. “We don’t play a game for 100 days,” he said last week. “Everything that’s happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew ahead of time. … Certainly had an awareness of all of it. Our preference is not to push it and rush anybody back at this point in time.” Garoppolo was Bady’s backup QB when the two played for the Patriots, and they won two Super Bowls together. When Garoppolo was with the 49ers, he led the team to a Super Bowl appearance during the 2019 season.
