Jimmy Garoppolo talks Tom Brady being part of Raiders ownership group

New Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo once served as a backup behind living legend Tom Brady and now somewhat works for Brady since the seven-time Super Bowl champion agreed to become a limited partner of the Raiders earlier this year. 

"It was cool seeing him in the locker room," Garoppolo told Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz about an interaction with Brady that occurred ahead of this past Saturday's preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys. "Same old dude. Dude loves ball, you could tell the competitor in him is coming out a little bit, even for just a preseason game. I mean, he's telling us to go ruin their day. It was nice having him around, man. He's good vibes, he's good people. It's only going to do good for our organization having a winner like that around." 

Brady and Garoppolo were teammates with the New England Patriots from the 2014 NFL Draft until New England traded Jimmy G to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2017 season. Garoppolo ultimately lost the San Francisco starting job to the recently-traded Trey Lance and then to 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy, and the veteran signed with the Raiders in free agency back in March. 

As for Brady, it was thought at one point this offseason he could consider playing for the Raiders this fall even though he retired "for good" in February, as he is a free agent who can sign with any team. There's currently no sign Brady will take another meaningful snap in an NFL game, which leaves Garoppolo as the Raiders' undisputed QB1. 

"I've always been a big believer you got to be natural with it," Garoppolo told Fitz about becoming a leader with a new team. "You can't really fake it. You can't be something that you're not and come in here with all this fake energy and things like that. You got to just let it flow, let you be yourself, and I think guys respect that and kind of gravitate towards that, in a way." 

Garoppolo's first chance to impress Brady the boss will come when the Raiders open the regular season at the Denver Broncos on Sept. 10.