New info indicates Buccaneers' Tom Brady wanted to play for Dolphins in 2022

There's yet another indication that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady thought he'd join the Miami Dolphins last offseason. 

According to a piece by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times published on Friday, recently retired Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen "was disappointed prior to the start of the 2022 season" when Tampa Bay blocked him from becoming Miami's offensive coordinator. That opportunity reportedly came with "a significant pay increase." 

As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned, accepting that job "would have positioned Christensen to work with" Brady in Miami. Florio reported last February that Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross wanted to pair Brady with former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton after Payton stepped down from his role with the Saints the previous month and Brady announced what became a temporary retirement on Feb. 1. 

In March, then-Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians made it clear the franchise would not trade Brady's rights to a different team at the start of the new league year. The seven-time Super Bowl champion ultimately confirmed on March 13 he was returning to Tampa Bay for another season but later refused to deny he had been interested in joining the Dolphins.

Ahead of this season, the Dolphins were forced to forfeit a pair of draft picks for violating tampering rules regarding Brady and Payton. 

Florio also pointed out that Christensen's "retirement" is likely a case of him being "pushed out" since the Buccaneers are paying the coach through the final year of his contract. Christensen theoretically could join a different organization as Brady remains on track to hit free agency this coming March. 

Brady and Christensen are known to be close, to the point that Christensen's departure from the Buccaneers caused some to assume the 45-year-old will play elsewhere in 2023 if he chooses to continue his career. For what it's worth, Brady has already been linked with the Dolphins this winter due to concerns about the health of current Miami signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa.