Report: Raiders inquired about Brady, wouldn't pay Bucs' price

Most football observers were shocked to learn that, when NFL free agency opened, the Las Vegas Raiders were not among the teams in the running for legendary quarterback Tom Brady.

The battle came down to two teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers.

Las Vegas was thought to be a logical landing spot and it turns out the Raiders were in fact "sniffing around Brady" as recently as late this week, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports, citing league sources.

The Raiders never submitted a formal offer, but they did make their ballpark numbers known to Brady, who was asking for roughly $30 million per season.

The Raiders weren't willing to go as high as the $25 million per year guaranteed Brady received from the Buccaneers, believing his play over the past two seasons - which included a Super Bowl victory in 2018 - didn't warrant such a contract, Tafur reports.

The Raiders also never got the impression Brady considered them a serious finalist, according to Tafur. If they had, they would have begun shopping quarterback Derek Carr for a potential trade.

Instead, Las Vegas will move forward with Carr and Marcus Mariota, whom the team reportedly agreed to terms with this week.