Phil Mickelson will begin his title defense next week at Pebble Beach with some momentum.

Mickelson entered this week's Saudi International in a prolonged slump, having failed to notch a top-10 finish since that triumph last year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But despite falling to No. 86 in the world rankings and beginning the new year with back-to-back missed cuts, Mickelson showed there's still some game left in the tank by tying for third in the Middle East.

Mickelson fired a closing 3-under 67 Sunday to finish the week at 9 under, just three shots back of winner Graeme McDowell.

"It was so fun to be back in the mix," Mickelson told reporters afterward. "It's been a while since I've been in contention. It's been a while since I've been playing well and it feels really good. This has been a great week for me, a good step, and it was so fun coming down the stretch to feel the nervousness and the excitement and the opportunities."

Mickelson was just one shot off the lead early on the back nine, but he bogeyed the par-3 16th and missed a crucial birdie putt on the penultimate hole to end his threat. But Mickelson was excited to keep building off what he described as a strong week, both off the tee (at least for the first three rounds before Mickelson admitted getting "antsy" and "stuck" on his downswing) and on the greens (especially during a windy Sunday).

"I haven't been my best this last year since I won Pebble a year ago, and I'm excited to go back there next week with a little bit of momentum," Mickelson said. "I feel like I have been playing well, but yet I haven't had the results. I missed a couple of cuts and this week I really started to put things together and it's a great week to build off of."

Shortly after Graeme McDowell starting working with new swing coach Kevin Kirk last August, Kirk said to the veteran, "There's no reason why the best golf in your career can't still be ahead of you."

McDowell is living up to those words.

The 40-year-old Northern Irishman, almost 10 years removed from his 2010 U.S. Open victory and his self-proclaimed best golf, McDowell topped an elite field by two shots Sunday at the Saudi International. The victory at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club gave McDowell his first European Tour title since 2014 and figures to vault McDowell back inside the top 50 in the world.

That was McDowell's goal – well, at least since August.

"It hasn't even been on the radar probably until about six months ago when I really started feeling like I was turning the corner," said McDowell, who did win last year in the Dominican Republic, though that was a PGA Tour opposite-field event and lacked the type of star power that gathered in Saudi Arabia (world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia).

"The win in the Dominican last year on the PGA Tour was huge, just to keep my job in the right place, you know, to give me a job to go to for the foreseeable future. Once I had that ticked off, it was a case of, 'Right, how do I start getting better? How do I get myself back to where I want to be?' ... This is huge – world-class field, No. 1 player in the world here, massive to win, massive world-ranking points, and like I say, hopefully I can kick it on into the season."

Shortly after his win, McDowell was projected to rise from No. 104 to No. 46 in the world rankings, per Twitter's OWGR expert Nosferatu. Of course, should he maintain that top-50 ranking the rest of the year, McDowell will get into all the WGCs and major championships. Before Sunday, McDowell was qualified for only the U.S. Open.

"We were trying to plan an Easter holiday the weekend of the Masters," McDowell said. "That may have to go on hold now."

He also is projected to rise to seventh in the European Ryder Cup team's world points list. McDowell hasn't played a Ryder Cup since 2014, but now he becomes Europe's second Ryder Cup veteran to make a serious push toward automatic qualification, joining Abu Dhabi winner Lee Westwood.

Westwood texted McDowell on Saturday evening to wish him good luck and remind him what a victory could do for McDowell's chances of making the squad for Whistling Straits later this year.

"I guess we didn't really enjoy the vice captaincy thing in Paris," McDowell said. "I would love to be on the team, but there's a lot of things that need to happen between now and then before I get myself on the team. I'm a little like Lee; I want to play my way on to the team and I don't want to have to rely on that pick, but we'll see."

And then there is the possibility of the Olympics. If McDowell passes Shane Lowry, who entered the week as Ireland's second qualifier at No. 18 in the world, or gets inside the top 15 when selections are made, he would qualify for the Tokyo Games this summer.

McDowell knows all that could come this year, but more than anything he just wants back in that elite sector of the game – and to give his kids some more non-YouTube highlights to watch.

"My goal is to get back in the top 20 in the world and to be competing," McDowell said. "I want another chance at a major championship on the back nine on a Sunday. This is all the steps. It's a lofty goal. There's going to be a lot of steps between here and now, but this really gives me the kick-on that I need."

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho praised his side's 2-0 win over Manchester City but lamented that Raheem Sterling didn't get a red card for his challenge on Dele Alli.

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Sunday's match was a sweet moment for Mourinho who claimed his biggest win since replacing Mauricio Pochettino in November, although he had raged before halftime, believing City's Sterling should have been shown a red card for a foul on Alli.

"It was a red card to Sterling," he said, adding he could understand given the pace of the game why on-pitch referee Mike Dean might give a yellow card.

"For me, Mike Dean [gave a] good performance. The problem is the VAR ... I thought I was going to love VAR the same way I love goal-line technology," Mourinho said.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose clashes with Mourinho have been well documented, didn't directly respond on what he thought of his counterpart's claims.

"I don't comment on other manager's opinions. I don't want to comment on that [the Sterling incident]," the Spaniard said.

On beating old adversary Guardiola for only the sixth time in 23 clashes, Mourinho told the BBC: "It's a pleasure to get three points in a match where we knew it would be very difficult. I have better feelings for Pep than you can imagine. We worked together for three years [as assistants at Barcelona]."

Steven Bergwijn made an instant impact in his Spurs debut with a stunning opener in the win. The Dutch midfielder, signed this week from PSV Eindhoven, produced a masterful piece of skill to chest down and sweep home a volley three minutes after City's Oleksandr Zinchenko was shown a second yellow card on the hour.

With 10-man City stretched Son Heung-min added a second in the 71st minute with a deflected effort.

"[Bergwijn's] goal was a great goal and so important for us," Mourinho told reporters. "[It was] the icing on the cake of a very good performance. Independent of the goal his performance was very good, very solid, very mature."

City remain 22 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool and only had themselves to blame for a sixth defeat of the season as they wasted several gilt-edged chances and missed yet another penalty when Hugo Lloris saved Ilkay Gundogan's spot kick.

"[Liverpool] are unstoppable with a lot of points...now is the target for the [other] competitions and quality for the Champions League next season," Guardiola said. "The distance is so big and next season we have to do better."

Sergio Aguero was unusually profligate on Sunday, striking the post in the first half and missing two other chances as City failed to score in consecutive games for the first time under Guardiola.

"Always a belief you are close to winning the games when you create the chances," Guardiola said. "It's happened sometimes this season and we have to accept it. We lost the game and that is really all I can say."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

LONDON -- Less than 12 months ago, Manchester City were billed by many as the best team of the Premier League era. They were a side that became the first to break the 100-point barrier in one season before going on to claim a domestic Treble the next. Yet with high praise comes greater scrutiny, so what does the defence of their title this season say about Pep Guardiola's super-team?

Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Tottenham -- both Spurs goals came after the 61st-minute sending off of City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko -- was the sixth time that Guardiola's team had lost in the league this season. Although it left City in second position, they sit a staggering 22 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool, who could arrive at the Etihad Stadium on Apr. 4 as champions if they win all six of their games between now and then.

If Guardiola and his players start that game by giving Liverpool a guard of honour, the pain of surrendering their title so meekly will truly sink in. It's not a case of if Liverpool dethrone City but when, a fact Guardiola acknowledged after Sunday's defeat.

"They [Liverpool] are unstoppable, with a lot of points," Guardiola said. "Of course, our target for the competitions now is to qualify for the Champions League next season. But two seasons ago, we finished with 100 points, 19 in front of Man United and 20-something in front of Liverpool. They were strong then too, so today is not a day to say what we are going to do.

"My team is good. I like the way we play but we are far away, the distance is not good, so next season we have to do better. It will be fantastic to say we will be better next season, but I don't know what will happen in our next game against West Ham."

It's difficult to assess the state of City under Guardiola right now. Their supporters will argue that they're still the second-best team in England, preparing for a third successive Carabao Cup final and with hopes still alive in the FA Cup and Champions League. They've also been hit hard by injuries to key players, with Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane both missing for the majority, if not all, of the season so far. Raheem Sterling was added to the casualty list on Sunday, limping off while clutching his hamstring at Spurs, so their tale of injury woe may continue.

It's also fair to point out that Liverpool have been so remarkably consistent, winning 24 of 25 league games, that no team could possibly match up. But this is Manchester City and Guardiola, supposedly the best team and manager English football has ever seen, so why have they failed to give Liverpool a better run for their money? The mitigating factors mentioned above for City's inability to defend their title are well-known, but the defeat against Jose Mourinho's Spurs also highlighted the malaise that has set in at the Etihad.

Missed chances -- City had 18 chances compared to Tottenham's three -- were the main reason for the defeat, with one of those misses coming from the penalty spot when Ilkay Gundogan's effort was saved by Hugo Lloris.

"We created more chances and lost the game," Guardiola said. "It happens sometimes this season and we have to accept it."

The failure to convert chances is a key difference from last season, however, when City were ruthlessly efficient in front of goal. Yes, they missed goalscoring opportunities last year, but they converted chances when it mattered and didn't let opponents off the hook as often as they have this time around.

After 25 games last season, they had only scored one more league goal than this time around (66 to 65) but those figures are perhaps skewed by the 19 scored in three games against Watford, West Ham and Aston Villa. A truer gauge is that City are eight points worse off than they were a year ago and that is down to being unable to beat teams when they have the opportunity to do so.

Man City are also worse defensively. This time last season, City had conceded 20 goals, but they've shipped 29 after 25 games in the 2019-20 campaign. Laporte's absence and the failure to replace Vincent Kompany are central to the defensive frailties, but John Stones' loss of form and confidence has also been a big problem and that has not been addressed sufficiently by Guardiola.

A year ago, City and Guardiola were on top of such details. Nothing was left to chance and they were ruthlessly efficient in every department. That diligence has since slipped, perhaps because Liverpool have crushed their spirit or maybe because it is virtually impossible, mentally and physically, to keep the foot on the pedal for three consecutive seasons.

Whatever the reasons, City are not the team they were last season or even 12 months ago.

Moeen Ali says he wants to play Test cricket again and he is prepared to fight for a place in the England side.

Moeen, who decided to take a break from Test cricket after being dropped following the first Ashes Test in August, also revealed he had hoped he would be dropped during that series and that he had considered quitting the long format cricket entirely.

Having subsequently lost the Test portion of his ECB central contract, Moeen missed England's 1-0 series defeat in New Zealand and their 3-1 victory over South Africa, which culminated in last week's 191-run victory at the Wanderers.

He has since joined England's limited-overs squads in South Africa ahead of their ODI series starting in Cape Town on Tuesday, which will be followed by three T20Is.

Moeen confirmed that he would speak with Chris Silverwood, England's head coach, and Test captain Joe Root while in South Africa about whether to make himself available for next month's two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.

"I don't want anyone to think I don't love playing for England because playing for your country is the greatest thing a cricketer can do," Moeen told Sky Sports. "Even in the warm-up games here, I was thinking 'I have missed this', which is exactly the feeling I want.

"I didn't feel as valued as much as I felt I should have been, and there were times when I thought I was going to quit playing Test matches, but I spoke to Rooty and he felt I was still a big part of this team.

"Ultimately it is about if I feel I am ready to play again. I don't want people to feel I am picking and choosing. I know I have to make sure I am fresh and mentally ready to go out and perform.

"I know even if I decide to go to Sri Lanka I might not get in straight away but I am going to fight for my place. I thought [off-spinner Dom] Bess bowled really well in South Africa but it was almost like, 'yeah, I could to that, I can still do that'. The ECB has been really supportive of me. I want to come back a better player and be a part of the whole journey."

Moeen's axing from the England Test side came after he posted scores of 0 and 4 and took three wickets for 172 runs over Australia's two innings at Edgbaston.

"I had to get myself up for the Ashes and I remember bowling thinking, 'I do not want to be here'. It is the worst possible place a cricketer can be," he said. "It definitely affected me. I can see when I look back that my body language was horrendous throughout the game.

"There was almost nothing happening for me. It was almost like there was no interest. It was such a big game and the harder I tried the worse I got. It was so bad.

"I was expecting not to play [the next Test at Lord's] and I was actually hoping I was going to get dropped so I could take that opportunity to step away for a bit. Being on the road for four or five years, I thought 'I can't do this anymore'. For me to perform for England, I needed to take this break now."

Moeen reiterated that his decision to take a break from Test cricket was based on being "burnt out" after England's successful World Cup campaign and years of touring and he said he felt the pressure of increased scrutiny over his form.

"It becomes daunting, you are almost afraid to play any shot and you get caught in between," Moeen said. "I have to be stronger personally, I know that. I can't blame everyone. But it does show the noise can really affect you.

"Social media is one of the hardest things about playing for England. I've never really cared what people say about me but in the last year or so I started to read quite a bit and that really affected me. I got sucked in, I think a lot of players do."

During his break from the Test arena, Moeen has been playing franchise cricket and he joined the England Lions camp as a mentor ahead of their current tour of Australia.

Moeen has a contract with Multan Sultans to play in the Pakistan Super League, the latter stages of which clash with the first Test against Sri Lanka.

Bess played the second and third Tests in South Africa, claiming a maiden five-wicket haul in the format at Port Elizabeth. He will join England Lions in Australia this week and is expected to be called up for the Sri Lanka tour. The question of who joins him is likely to depend heavily on Jack Leach's ability to recover from a long bout of illness - and the decision over whether Moeen is ready to return.

Lungi Ngidi has lost "probably four or five kilograms," and some of his youthful spark after spending three weeks at a CSA strength and conditioning camp, intended to give him and three others time to work on their fitness.

Ngidi was sent to the camp on the back of a hamstring injury, sustained in the first week of December in the Mzansi Super League, and has emerged from it lighter, leaner and ready for a leadership role in the upcoming ODI series against England.

In the absence of Kagiso Rabada, who is being rested, and Dale Steyn or Chris Morris, who were not considered for this series, Ngidi is the most experienced frontline seamer in the attack. Only allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo has more ODI caps, which means Ngidi will be tasked with spearheading the pack.

That reality combined with the lifestyle changes he has had to make in a bid to have an injury-free run may explain why Ngidi had his game-face, and not his usual grin, on ahead of his first training session with the national side on Sunday.

"To be leading the attack, doesn't feel any different. I've done it before," Ngidi, said, trying to play down the responsibility that lies ahead in the next week. "There is always expectation playing for the national side. I am pretty used to that."

What he is less used to is the rigorous routine he was put through at the High Performance Centre, which included everything from fitness to food.

"You speak to dieticians, work with strength and conditioning coaches and try find the best way to lose weight and to maintain strength and fitness," Ngidi said. "There is a lot that goes into it behind the scenes. You've got to limit a lot more things that are harmful to your body."

The guidance on how to live like an elite athlete was provided by Adrian le Roux, a sports scientist who has worked with the Indian, South African and Kolkata Knight Riders teams, and who was put in charge of the recently completed camp. In attendance was Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts and Sisanda Magala.

Consider those names and their frames (and the fact that Smuts was withdrawn from the T20 tour of India and Magala is unavailable to play in this England ODI series because both failed to pass fitness tests) and you will understand the company Ngidi was considered part of.

While not necessarily overweight, the frequency of Ngidi's injuries was cause for concern. Since his international debut in 2017, Ngidi has missed matches and entire series because of hip, abdomen, knee and hamstring injuries and has battled a stress fracture and a side strain. He is only 23, so the wear-and-tear that comes with age is unlikely to be affecting him yet. So what is the reason?

"It's hard to pinpoint," Ngidi said. "We do a lot of work as national players but everyone's formula is different and every person is different. I'm a bit bigger than the other guys to it probably takes a bit more out of my body to try and bowl. I've got to get the formula right."

Ngidi believes he has found a way to stay fit in shorter formats, which is why making a comeback for the white-ball leg of the England tour, rather than during the Tests, is ideal.

"The format we are playing now doesn't require long spells," he said. "I've got my formula in the shorter format, I've got that nailed down. It's just trying to find that formula for the longer format."

Whether that means South Africa will need to be more selective about Ngidi's workload management in future will only be known later in the year. For now, it's about getting Ngidi on the park, especially as he last played at international level three months ago, and watched the England Tests series from the sidelines, knowing his presence could have made a difference.

"It's always frustrating to be watching especially if we are not doing as well as we wanted to be doing," he said. "From the side, a bit of frustration but the Test series is gone now, we've got to focus on the one-dayers."

With the fifty-over World Cup three years away and much rebuilding to be done before then, South Africa's approach to ODIs may appear to be experimental. They head into this series with a new captain, Quinton de Kock, four uncapped players (fast bowler Lutho Sipamla, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin and batsmen Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne) and an inexperienced attack. Beuran Hendricks, the other seamer in the squad, has played just four ODIs, leaving it to Ngidi to lead the attack.

He spoke like someone ready to do it. Gone were the giggles of a boy just out of his teens, already living his dreams and in front of us was Ngidi 2.0, a man of maturity who would not even reveal which English wickets he would most value taking.

"I would like all of them," he said, barely cracking a smile. "To win this series would be a massive step for us, having not done as well as we would have wanted in the Test series. It's a chance for us to redeem ourselves."

And a bigger chance for Ngidi, and his team-mates from the strength and conditioning camp, to do the same.

Australia Under-19s 195 for 6 (Fanning 62, Hearne 48, Sangha 46*, Jamshid 2-28, Zohaib 2-38) beat Afghanistan Under-19s 191 for 7 (Zakhil 91, Sangha 4-41) by four wickets
Scorecard

Tanveer Sangha had the game of his life, picking up four wickets with his legspin and then, perhaps more impressively, withstanding the pressure of a run-chase so well that he he hit the penultimate ball of the game for a thumping six to win it for Australia.

Sangha had done his bit to keep Afghanistan down to 191 for 7, the 18-year old responsible for how only one of the Afghanistan batters could make more than 25. That man, their captain Farhan Zakhil, finished unbeaten on 91 off 132 balls. It was a highly impressive effort in a thrillingly low-scoring game and its value became immediately apparent when Afghanistan had Australia at 2 for 3 at the start of their chase.

Sam Fanning, the opener who did very well to defy India recently, got together with Lachlan Hearne and steadied the ship but Afghanistan struck again, tugging the score down from 99 for 3 to 123 for 6 at the start of the 39th over.

Australia now needed 69 runs in 71 balls and into this cauldron walked Sangha and he promptly clattered 46 runs off 40 balls including five fours and that winning six. Prior to him, the best strike-rate from anyone in the game - having faced a minimum of 15 balls - was a paltry 76. Sangha made his runs at 115 all the while knowing the game was on the line and he couldn't afford even a single mistake.

Zimbabwe Under-19s 354 for 8 (Marumani 90, Shumba 69, Bawa 56, Davidson 2-44, Cairns 2-61, Peet 2-64) beat Scotland Under-19s 182 all out (Cairns 58, Chesa 5-49, Madhevere 2-18) by 172 runs
Scorecard

Legspinner Priviledge Chesa led the way in an all-round show by Zimbabwe, who overwhelmed Scotland in the 11th place play-off match.

Batting first, Zimbabwe maintained a good run-rate throughout the innings but it was the death that they really exploded, with 94 runs coming in the last 10 overs. Zimbabwe had good contributions throughout, and even though nobody made it to three figures, there were three half-centuries.

Tadiwanashe Marumani made 90 at the top of the order, Milton Shumba made 69 off 73 from No.3 and the two shared a 138-run stand in just 21.2 overs for the second wicket. Emannuel Bawa provided the thrust at the end with 56 off 36 from No.6. No Scotland bowler escaped punishment, with all of them going at greater than a run a ball, apart from Jasper Davidson who bowled only three overs.

Scotland's chase was in trouble early and they didn't have substantial partnerships. Allrounder Daniel Cairns was the only one who made it past a half-century, scoring 58 from No.6. Cairns was the ninth wicket to fall, becoming Chesa's fifth victim. Chesa dismantled the Scotland middle order, sending them tumbling with figures of 5 for 49.

A day after saying Houston guard DeJon Jarreau did not bite a Cincinnati player on Saturday, Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said additional video has convinced him that he was wrong.

Sampson said new footage from the game proved his player did bite Cincinnati's Mamoudou Diarra during a fight for a loose ball. A viral clip that circulated after the game showed a different tussle for a loose ball involving Jarreau and Cincinnati's Keith Williams, which is what Sampson said he responded to following the game.

Jarreau, who was ejected after drawing a flagrant 2 foul, has been suspended for Thursday's game against Tulane.

"In the initial video clip I requested and saw immediately after Saturday's game at Cincinnati, I did not believe there was a bite on Keith Williams," Sampson said in a statement. "My initial statements in Saturday's postgame press conference were based on the video from the early part of that scrum. After further reviews from multiple angles, it can clearly be seen that DeJon Jarreau bit Mamoudou Diarra."

In a scuffle for a loose ball in Houston's 64-62 road loss to Cincinnati, Jarreau dove for a loose ball with 6:16 to go in the game. As Jarreau and Diarra wrestled for the ball, it appeared on video that Jarreau bit Diarra on the leg. Jarreau was subsequently ejected.

After the game, however, Sampson said he'd watched video of the play and determined that there was "no bite."

"There was no bite. There was an alleged bite," Sampson said after the game. "Somebody says somebody bit, and they go to the line. I just watched the film. I watched it three times to make sure I was right, too. If you watch it once, you might be wrong. I watched it twice. I watched it three times. I had my staff look at it. There was no bite. There should have been a jump ball. It's our ball. Our possession. And we should have had the ball on the side."

Cincinnati had stormed back from a 15-point deficit in the key American Athletic Conference matchup. But postgame conversation centered on Jarreau's actions.

On Sunday, however, Sampson said he has apologized to Cincinnati's John Brannen for his comments after the game.

"I reached out to Cincinnati head coach John Brannen this morning and apologized on behalf of our basketball team," Sampson said. "Our program is built on discipline, and behavior like that will not be tolerated. With that in mind, I have chosen to suspend DeJon for Thursday's game against Tulane. I am confident DeJon will learn from this incident and the consequences of his actions."

Washington Redskins tight end Vernon Davis has retired from the NFL, he announced in a video with Rob Gronkowski and later confirmed via text.

An official announcement will be made later this month.

During the video that aired on the Fox Super Bowl pregame show, Gronkowski said he was in Miami, which he called the land of retirement, and that he had brought his retirement crew with him: James Harrison and Davis, who said, "That's right, I'm retired."

Davis was a pending free agent, but at 36 and coming off a concussion, his retirement comes as no surprise. The Redskins had planned to add other tight ends in the offseason, so it made this a good time for Davis to end his career. Davis spent the past four seasons with Washington, his hometown team. Davis grew up in the district and played collegiately at the University of Maryland.

Davis ranks among the most productive tight ends of all time -- he's sixth on the all-time touchdown list (63) and ninth on the all-time receptions list (583). His speed made him a dangerous matchup throughout his career, even in his final seasons with the Redskins. Davis averaged 12.97 yards during his career, a total surpassed by only two tight ends with at least 300 catches during the same period -- Gronkowski and New Orleans' Jared Cook. Also, Davis was tied for second with Antonio Gates for the most receptions of at least 20 yards with 124 -- 11 behind Gronkowski.

Davis, the sixth overall pick in 2006, spent his first nine seasons with San Francisco. The 49ers traded him to Denver during the 2015 season and Davis won a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos. He finished his 49ers career with a franchise-best 55 touchdowns by a tight end; he was second among 49ers tight ends with 441 receptions, trailing only Dwight Clark.

Davis' future plans are unknown, though he has made multiple movies, including one that came out this fall called "Hell on the Border." He also could pursue an analyst role on TV.

The Raiders are poised to pursue quarterback Tom Brady if he doesn't re-sign with the Patriots before free agency begins, league sources told ESPN.

Whether the Raiders can lure Brady to Las Vegas, as their quarterback and biggest draw, remains uncertain. Patriots owner Robert Kraft has expressed how much he wants Brady to return to New England, and there will be more talks with the team before the free-agent period.

New England is expected to want to have a decision made well before the free-agent signing period begins March 18. But Brady also has said he is "open-minded" about the free-agent process, and other teams are expected to explore the possibility of signing him, according to sources.

One of the teams expected to be leading the way if Brady gets to free agency is the Raiders, whose coach, Jon Gruden, is a long-time admirer of the three-time MVP and six-time Super Bowl champion. The two have a good relationship, and league sources believe that Gruden, who is known to be a highly effective recruiter, wants Brady on the Raiders.

Brady would provide the Raiders instant credibility in their new city, not to mention an enormous marketing advantage that could be presented on billboards across Nevada.

What the Raiders could give Brady, aside from vast adoration and appreciation, is a sturdy offensive line that includes former Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown, as well as a running game led by rookie Josh Jacobs, and a receiving game that features Darren Waller, Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow.

Brady, 42, visited Las Vegas last month for UFC 246 and crossed paths with Raiders owner Mark Davis. Photos of Brady and Davis together generated predictable buzz on social media, highlighting how Brady's future is not just arguably the biggest story of the upcoming NFL offseason, but perhaps in all of sports.

As part of the revised contract Brady agreed to with the Patriots in August, the team can't assign him the franchise tag, which gives the four-time Super Bowl MVP leverage to dictate his plans. If Brady returns to the Patriots for a 21st season in 2020, he would tie former Lions kicker Jason Hanson for the longest tenure with a team in NFL history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension in the summer of 2017, was booed out of the Oakland Coliseum on Dec. 15, the team's final game at their longtime venue, with fans throwing trash and food on the field following a last-minute loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Despite a revolving door at receiver, running back and on the offensive line due to injuries, Carr had career highs this season in passing yards (4,054), yards per attempt (7.9) and completion percentage (70.9), and his eight interceptions were the second fewest of his career. Still, Gruden seemed to grow frustrated with Carr's apparent reluctance to extend plays with his legs at times.

"I think that Derek is an amazing quarterback," Jacobs said on Friday. "I think that he's actually one of the smartest guys I've ever met. I mean, whatever they decide to do, we'll be in good hands. You can't ever really compare another quarterback to Tom Brady. But, I think that whatever they decide to do we'll be in good hands."

ESPN's Mike Reiss and Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.