Jason Licht shares John Spytek’s ‘only knock’ after leaving the Buccaneers to join the Raiders

The 44-year-old has reunited with Tom Brady at the Las Vegas Raiders, where he faces a big rebuild to lead them back to success.

As a team, they haven’t made the NFL Playoffs since the 2021 season and have only made the post-season twice since 2002.

Spytek faces a big task to turn a team which went 4-13 into a contender again. His quest will start with having to find a quarterback.

Pete Carroll has been warned the Raiders could fire him if he fails to re-establish a functional offense again.

Putting points on the board in a division like the AFC West can be difficult. To win a Super Bowl, they will have to overcome three teams that made the playoffs from their own division last year.

Jason Licht says John Spytek’s ‘only knock’ is that he went to Michigan for college

Over the last few seasons, the Buccaneers have faced cap space hell and were forced to repay their debts for a ‘win-now’ approach to having Brady as their quarterback.

It paid off with a Super Bowl, but after facing $80 million in dead cap space, they needed to perform miracles to remain playoff contenders.

They did just that, signing players to cheap deals (including Baker Mayfield) and continuing to dominate the NFC South.

Spytek was one of the main cogs in that operation, identifying key talent in the NFL Draft and working on free agent signings and the odd contract extension.

His ex-boss heaped praise on him in Indianapolis this weekend, but revealed his one knock after he left the Florida-based organisation.

“They’re getting a lot. They’re getting a very dedicated, very loyal, very genuine [man]. He’s extremely authentic. He doesn’t try to be somebody else,” he said.

“It’s nice of him to say he’s taken some things from me, but he’s going to do it his way and he’s always open to adapting. He’s got a lot of humility to him, he’s just a great person. Very very smart. The only knock on him is that he went to Michigan.”

Pete Carroll reveals how much influence Tom Brady will have at the Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders project is starting to ramp up and looks to be quite an exciting one now. It’s about time for them to start planning their next squad.

Free agency begins on March 12, with the draft a month later. Their team could alter significantly between now and the end of April.

They have some stars on defense to build around if they want to, with the likes of Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins.

Carroll says Brady will have Raiders influence in 2025 as he begins his first full-time season as a minority stakeholder in the team.

If anyone knows how to craft a team well, it’s the man that used to be able to sell himself to almost any player in the league.