NFL GM Calls Tom Brady 'One of the Most Shrewd Quarterbacks to Ever Play Football'

Amid the controversy surrounding a potential conflict of interest between Tom Brady's roles as Las Vegas Raiders minority owner and lead color commentator for the NFL on Fox, some league executives anonymously gave their thoughts on the situation this week.

Speaking to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, a general manager said, "It's Tom Brady. He's one of the most shrewd quarterbacks to ever play football. Of course he's going to soak up everything he can to give the Raiders an edge."

An NFL owner agreed with the assessment, adding, "They are getting an unfair advantage whether they capitalize on it or not. You don't think he's getting info from the crew that is allowed at practice? Of course he is."

The feelings on Brady's dual role within the NFL aren't unanimous, though, as an anonymous head coach quipped, "Good! He's busy doing lots of jobs. Less time to improve the Raiders."

Last year, Brady was approved by NFL owners to become a minority owner of the Raiders despite the fact that he was also employed by Fox as their lead NFL analyst.

In an effort to prevent an uneven playing field, the NFL announced some restrictions that would be placed on Brady, including bans on being in other teams' facilities, attending other teams' practices and attending production meetings either in person or virtually.

Slight amendments were made to those rules this season, though, as Jack McKessy of USA Today reported that Brady can now attend production meetings virtually, meaning he is able to pick the brains of players and coaches.

As noted by Russini, Brady got to speak to Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen before their game against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

Next week, the Raiders host the Bears, meaning Brady could have intimate information on an upcoming opponent depending on what Williams, Johnson and Allen were willing to tell him.

Adding to the concern is the fact that Brady was spotted in the Raiders' coaching booth during their Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers:

ESPN's Peter Schrager (h/t Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons) later reported that Brady and Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly meet two to three times per week, but Kelly suggested that the conversations are innocent, saying, "I spend a lot of time just talking football with him. But it's not on a—we don't talk about game plans."

Antonio Pierce, who was the Raiders' head coach last season before getting fired and replaced by Pete Carroll, appeared this week on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio with Adam Schein (h/t Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio), and claimed that Brady did share information with him last season, saying:

"It's not hard for him to watch a few things on a Friday practice or hear things in a production meeting and be like, 'Hmm,' and have tidbits. And you'd be foolish enough to think that he's not gonna share that with the Raiders because we had those conversations about certain things."

Success has been fleeting for the Raiders over the past couple of decades, as they have made just two playoff appearances and haven't won a playoff game since reaching the Super Bowl at the end of the 2002 season.

They have missed the playoffs in three straight seasons and seven of the past eight, and it is fair to wonder if the organization viewed Brady as a potential ticket out of the doldrums.

Of course, Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time with seven Super Bowl wins and five Super Bowl MVP awards to his credit.

Having that type of person involved in the organization can only be considered a good thing from the Raiders' perspective, but given that he has access to opposing teams that no other owners are permitted to have, it is understandable why there is some concern about the Raiders having an unfair advantage.