Reporter addresses Carson Wentz, Tom Brady possibly playing for Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders have at least a couple of possible options if quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is worse off than feared. 

For a piece published Thursday, ESPN's Paul Gutierrez linked the Raiders with free-agent signal-caller Carson Wentz. Gutierrez mentioned that Wentz had Raiders pass game coordinator Scott Turner as his offensive coordinator with the Washington Commanders last season and, thus, is familiar with Las Vegas's passing attack. 

Wentz missed time last fall after he required surgery to repair a fractured right ring finger and also lost his starting job to Taylor Heinicke. According to ESPN stats, Wentz finished the regular season ranked 30th out of 31 qualified players with a 32.9 adjusted QBR, and the 30-year-old QB tossed 11 touchdown passes with nine interceptions across eight games. 

It was reported Wednesday that Garoppolo should be ready to return "long before the start of training camp". He is currently recovering from a procedure he underwent in March that addressed an issue with an early-December foot injury while he still played for the San Francisco 49ers. Per a waiver included in Garoppolo's contract, the Raiders essentially can void his deal if he's unable to pass a physical. 

There's thus far been no indication the Raiders want to move on from Garoppolo ahead of summer workouts. 

Gutierrez also addressed the elephant in the room, which is the idea that Tom Brady could come out of retirement to once again play under Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels famously served as Brady's offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. 

Gutierrez pointed out that Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis already enjoy a business relationship. Brady recently acquired an ownership interest in the Las Vegas Aces, the WNBA franchise owned by Davis, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion is set to become a limited partner of the Raiders later this year. 

"And while Brady would need an unlikely approval from NFL owners to come down from the owner's box to play, that approval would only be needed if he was already an owner," Gutierrez continued. "And the owners haven't even granted that approval yet; that vote probably won't take place until October." 

Brady insisted on multiple occasions last week that he's committed to staying retired ahead of becoming Fox's lead NFL analyst next year. However, there is always the off-chance that he could have second thoughts about his immediate future. This could be compounded if it's learned that Garoppolo won't be 100% by the regular-season opener at the Denver Broncos on Sept. 10. 

"Never say never, and stranger things have happened with this organization," Gutierrez added about Brady potentially wearing silver and black this fall.