Raiders GM declares he’d be “a special kind of idiot” not to use Tom Brady in wake of failed Matthew Stafford pursuit 

It took a while, but Tom Brady finally landed a seat at the NFL owners' table last year when the league formally announced the decision to approve his five-percent stake purchase of the Las Vegas Raiders. Since then, TB12 has played a hands-on role in steering the franchise in the right direction.

There was a structural change following a 4-13 season: Out went Antonio Pierce and GM Tom Telesco. Came John Spytek as Telesco's replacement and Pete Carroll as Pierce's successor. And just like that, the Brady era of the Raiders was up and running. The Raiders also made an early statement to kick off that era, aggressively pursuing Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford before he eventually decided to stay in LA.

Multiple reports outlined that Las Vegas wouldn't stand a chance of hiring Carroll or going after a QB of Stafford's caliber had Tom Brady not been on board. Spytek addressed that consideration during an interview with NFL GameDay at the combine.

"I'd be a special kind of idiot if I didn't use Tom as a sounding board for certain places. And Coach Carroll, obviously, he's got such an amazing amount of experience and success in this league, and really everywhere he's ever been," Spytek said.

"The first time that we connected, after I got hired and started to talk to him about him coming on, we speak the same football language, even though we come from very different parts of the country, and, you know, the age difference, but it's just been an awesome experience so far, getting to know all those guys, and what a resource for for me and my first go-around with this. I'd be a fool not to talk to those guys."

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Exploring potential avenues for Tom Brady's Raiders after Matthew Stafford disappointment

Rams HC Sean McVay said he slept better since Matthew Stafford decided to stay in town, but that won't give the Raiders solace.

With Stafford off the board, if the franchise decides to go with a veteran quarterback, it will have to turn to one of Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers or even Justin Fields at a stretch.

They still have the sixth overall pick, having played themselves out of consideration for a higher pick with two late-season wins. The dream scenario in this case would be for Shedeur Sanders to fall into their laps, but it would behoove the Raiders to try and trade up this time after trying and failing to move up the board to draft Jayden Daniels a year ago.