It would be easy to make the case that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady is now 0-for-2 in his pursuit of big-name targets in his first offseason as an integral part of the organization’s operations.

The swing-and-a-miss on quarterback Matthew Stafford follows not too far on the heels of highly coveted offensive guru Ben Johnson eschewing an offer from the Raiders to take over as coach in Chicago in January.

Any Raiders fan who may be left feeling frustrated or lamenting the fact they will have to watch Johnson and Stafford ply their trade elsewhere, wondering whether the fortunes of their franchise will ever really change, can’t be blamed after these flirtations went unrequited.

There truly is a Silver (and Black?) lining this time, though.

Not only did the Raiders’ attempt to lure Stafford bring us one of the best scouting combine stories of all time that featured the most intense Starbucks duel since the debate sparked by the new ice in their cold drinks (more on that later), but it should have provided encouragement to the fan base that their team is squarely in the mix.

Sure, you can focus on the fact that Brady wasn’t able to land Johnson or Stafford. At least he and the Raiders were swinging for the fences.

Cost probably too high

Far too often over the past two decades, the Raiders have mostly been left standing in the on-deck circle. Even when they got to the plate, they were hitting choppers up the middle and hoping to draw walks just to get on base. Even then, their batting average wasn’t going to keep them in the starting lineup.

The other part of the equation is whether it was the right thing to do to step up and try to hit a home run right away. Had the Raiders actually landed Stafford, it may have been the equivalent of a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth when you’re trailing by eight runs.

Sorry for so many baseball analogies, but spring training just got underway and can’t you just feel the excitement?

Anyway, there is no doubt the Raiders need a quarterback, and Stafford was the best one on the market. They made their pitch, and he chose to go a different direction, which could be for the best in the end.

Stafford alone wasn’t going to fix the Raiders right away, and if the Rams wanted a first-round pick plus additional assets in exchange, that was probably too high a cost, in addition to the $50 million-ish per season for someone who wasn’t going to be the long-term answer.

A deal like that would have hampered the efforts to build the rest of the roster so a quarterback like Stafford could actually succeed.

So there is a case to be made that it’s for the best for the Raiders that they didn’t have to give up the farm to get Stafford. They can stick to the more prudent plan of building a foundation for a longer period of success instead of putting all their eggs in one basket and hoping to win in one of the next two seasons.

Starbucks showdown

And yet at the same time, it was still good that they tried. Those aren’t conflicting ideas. They have to show they are serious about winning, and they have started to do that this offseason.

The Raiders weren’t going to get an interview with Johnson had it not been for the presence of Brady. They probably wouldn’t have gotten as far down the line with Stafford without his influence, either.

At some point, these swings should start connecting and providing big results.

Speaking of which, no actual punches were thrown between NFL insiders Jordan Schultz and Ian Rapoport after their reported verbal altercations at an Indianapolis Starbucks. The confrontation was the result of a social media spat that was triggered by their conflicting posts over whether the ski resort meeting between Brady and Stafford in which a move to the Raiders was discussed was a planned get-together or happenstance.

The confrontation, only made better by the fact that Schultz’s dad is the former CEO of Starbucks, is one of those unbelievable tales that is so unique to an event like the combine, where nearly every NFL figure and personality of note is crammed into several square blocks for a week with limited dining and beverage options.

The event should never, ever leave Indianapolis.

And the amazing story wouldn’t have been possible without the Raiders pursuing Stafford.

So maybe it was a home run after all.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.