Tom Brady’s role with Raiders drawing questions, controversy after MNF appearance

Raiders coach Pete Carroll denied a report from Monday night’s ESPN broadcast that claimed minority owner Tom Brady regularly talks with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to discuss the team’s strategy for the upcoming week.

Carroll called that characterization “not accurate” after his club’s 20-9 loss to the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium.

“We have conversations,” Carroll said. “I talk to Tom and Chip talks to Tom regularly. We have a tremendous asset and we all get along well and respect each other. We talk about life and football and whatever comes. He has great insight and we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”

Update: Carroll says Brady ‘not planning games’ for Raiders despite ‘MNF’ report

ESPN’s Peter Schrager, serving as a sideline reporter on the “Monday Night Football” broadcast, reported Brady may be more involved in the Raiders’ operations than previously believed.

“(Brady and Kelly) go through film and they go through the game plan,” Schrager said, claiming Kelly told him he speaks with Brady two or three times per week. “Brady is a luxury for the coaches and is also an owner who has been there and done that.”

Brady, 48, was shown sitting in the team’s coaching box with a headset on during the discussion. The NFL said in a statement Tuesday the legendary quarterback and Raiders minority owner broke no rules by doing so.

“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” the league said. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.”

Brady apparently doesn’t just give feedback on the Raiders offense, either.

The broadcast further reported he sent a text message to defensive coordinator Patrick Graham after the team struggled to tackle in the preseason opener against Seattle.

“Figure it out fast,” the message read.

Brady’s role with the Raiders has been the subject of conversation around the NFL because he serves as a broadcaster with Fox.

He faced restrictions last year because of his status as both a minority owner and color analyst. He was limited in what he could say during broadcasts and the access he could have with other teams’ players and coaches.

Those rules were somewhat relaxed this year, though Monday’s report could raise concerns once again about Brady’s dual roles. He will call the Bears’ game against the Cowboys on Sunday, one week before the Raiders are set to face Chicago.

“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” the NFL said in its statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple of times, including for the Super Bowl.

“Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”

‘Dream come true’

Running back Dylan Laube’s second offensive touch in the NFL went better than the first.

The 2024 sixth-round pick took a swing pass in the left flat late in the first half and made a defender miss before getting up field and out of bounds for a 13-yard gain.

It was Laube’s first touch since he got a carry Oct. 13, 2024 in a loss to Pittsburgh and fumbled. He was happy to finally get a chance to atone for his mistake.

“It was awesome,” Laube said. “Make a guy miss and get a first down. It was really my first true offensive play in a regular-season game since my fumble, so it felt good.”

Laube said he didn’t have any negative thoughts in his head after catching the ball. He didn’t even hear the roar of the crowd as he ran down the sideline.

He was just focused on doing his job.

“It was a long time ago and we have practices and the preseason, plus I’m on special teams on kickoff return, so I’ve played a lot and time has passed,” Laube said. “But it was cool going out there in prime time in a two-minute offense. That was like a dream come true. It’s fun. Now we just have to build off that.”

Laube finished with two catches for 17 yards Monday to go along with some nice work on special teams. He understands his place on the depth chart behind Ashton Jeanty and Zamir White, but he’s happy to be carving out a role on offense.

“I think they want to take a little off Ashton’s plate because as a rookie, you can’t have him playing 100 percent of the snaps,” Laube said. “So we have (White) and me that can fill certain roles and my specialty is that two-minute passing offense, just getting into the open space kind of thing.

“It was really cool.”

‘Block people’

Right guard Alex Cappa, who started in place of the injured Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) on Monday, had a simple assessment for what the Raiders need to do to jump-start their stagnant run game.

“Block people,” Cappa said, bluntly.

Jeanty finished with 43 yards on 11 carries. The Raiders as a team finished with 68 yards on 19 rushing attempts.

“We just have to do more,” Cappa said. “We’ll watch the film and see, but we have to do more. We have great players, we just have to help put them in better situations.

“We were battling and competing and we always will, but we didn’t do enough to protect the quarterback, take care of the ball and put points on the board. We’ve got to do more up front.”

No panic

Carroll isn’t concerned about Jeanty, even though the first-round pick has 81 yards on 30 carries through two NFL games.

“We’re just getting started,” Carroll said. “He’s breaking into the NFL, just figuring it out.”

Jeanty is ready to do his part to take that next step.

“We have a lot to fix and work on,” Jeanty said. “I have a lot to get better at. I have to be a lot better for this team. We’ve got to get back in the lab. Learn from our mistakes and get better.

“I just have to continue to get better so I can be a game-changer for us.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.