Tom Brady was opposed to the Raiders signing Sam Darnold

It’s not necessarily new, but it’s worth mentioning.

In the recent item from Mike Silver of TheAthletic.com regarding quarterback Sam Darnold’s latest fresh start, in Seattle, Silver reports that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady didn’t want to pursue Darnold as the team’s next quarterback.

That meshes with the reporting that emerged after quarterback Matthew Stafford decided to stay in L.A. Brady and Raiders G.M. John Spytek weren’t enamored with the other veteran options (they had zero interest in Aaron Rodgers), while the coaching staff wasn’t thrilled with the idea of targeting and developing a rookie.

Geno Smith became the compromise candidate, given his clear connection to coach Pete Carroll.

It makes for an interesting compare-and-contrast between two franchises that were, for years, rivals in the AFC West. Did the Seahawks get it right by opting for Darnold? Did the Raiders get it right by focusing on Geno?

The fact that Brady was directly involved in the evaluation of veteran quarterbacks also makes his clumsy effort to disclaim any role in the decision to pass, repeatedly, on quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

“There’s . . . I — I — it’s a good question,” Brady said when asked a fairly broad question about the Sanders free fall. “I wasn’t a part of any evaluation process or to see that.”

While Brady doesn’t seem to be rolling up his sleeves and applying elbow grease to his work with the Raiders, Brady definitely has a voice in the shaping of the roster.

Whether he intended it or not, Brady has created a potentially ideal middle ground that will allow him to claim credit if the Raiders turn things around — and to escape blame if the franchise continues to be far more sluggish than successful.