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Former Patriots Backup on Tom Brady's Role in QB Search
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Fox Sports announcer Tom Brady on the field before Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders need a quarterback and minority owner Tom Brady is leading the charge alongside general manager and former Michigan teammate John Spytek to find one.

Brady, arguably the best to play the game and the obvious choice by many as the best signal caller to ever play, brings expertise many do not have. He knows what it takes.

On a recent Sports Illustrated MMQB podcast, senior writer Albert Breer spoke with former long-time Brady backup with the New England Patriots, Brian Hoyer. Hoyer might understand Brady's mind as a quarterback and football player better than anyone else, and he outlined what he thought his former teammate would be looking for in a passer this offseason.

"It's gotta be toughness, work ethic, leadership, all of those things," said Hoyer. "Which is why you're probably going to see him initially go, obviously make a play for [Matthew] Stafford, possibly [Aaron] Rodgers. A guy he knows can come in and settle the ship until he can find the young guy that they believe in to really bring in, groom, maybe learn from one of these [veterans].

"But I think, for me, Tom has such a unique view. Hearing him do announcing this year, you can just hear it from the way he talks about the game the standard that he has for the quarterback position. He's like, 'I see a lot of bad quarterback play. Guys, they see a blitz coming and they run the run right into it.' So there's a big mental aspect that is probably going to go into that, and I'm sure that any quarterback that's going to be brought in to be a quarterback with the Raiders at some point is going to sit down with Tom Brady and he's going to go over things."

The cerebral approach might be the best move possible to drafting a signal caller. How many quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the NFL draft were busts because they weren't fast enough or did not have a good enough arm?

Seeing the game, processing defenses, having the mental fortitude to bounce back after a big sack, turnover, or bad play, ad-lib when necessary, those traits are all between the ears. Those are just gameday traits, too. That's not even factoring in work ethic, leadership, and other habits a good quarterback exhibits 24/7.

As history has shown, the difference between a successful quarterback or one that fails often comes down to what is between the ears.

Brady's presence in Las Vegas does not guarantee a franchise quarterback for head coach Pete Carroll. But it could certainly help the Raiders' odds.

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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