It almost feels inevitable that rumors about Tom Brady coming out of retirement might surface one more time. Whether we want to hear it or not, that was a big topic on The Rich Eisen Show following a week at the NFL Combine. But don’t get your hopes up, Bucs fans, if Brady did return it won’t be in Tampa.
In a list of the Top 5 rumors that Eisen heard at the Combine, number one was that the door isn’t shut on Brady teaming up with Miami Dolphins this season. Take it with a grain of salt, though, as Eisen stated that these are rumors and just conversations that he is hearing.
“I heard from a couple people, not in terms of a lot of chatter but this one blew my mind,” Eisen said. “Tom Brady may not be done after all. A couple of people were like ‘Just hang on. Just you wait.’ Let it play out, let’s see who wants what, and the one place that folks are saying keep an eye on out for is Miami.
“If the Dolphins get somehow, some way, a doctor’s report, a piece of information from a medical evaluation from Tua [Tagovailoa] that he may not be able to ready to go and suddenly there’s Tom Brady sitting in Florida where his family is located and he can easily locate himself, keep an eye out on that. I was told by a couple of people of little birdies at the Combine.”
You can watch Eisen’s entire comments on the matter in this video starting at the 6:28 all the way until the end of the clip.
Tom Brady Has Been Connected To Miami Before
This isn’t the first time that Tom Brady has linked to Miami before. The big factor of course is that he has a house in the area and two of his three children live there.
Brady and the Dolphins came close to working together on two separate occasions that got Miami in hot water and even penalized by the NFL. Owner Stephen Ross was found guilty of tampering and “impermissible communications” with Brady while he was a member of the New England Patriots in 2019-20 and while he was under contract the Bucs in 2021. Brady’s communication was with his friend, Bruce Beal, who is the Dolphins’ vice chairman and limited partner.
Ross was suspended until October 17 of last season and fined $1.5 million. The Dolphins also had to forfeit their first round pick in this year’s NFL Draft and a third round pick in 2024.
How Possible Is Tom Brady Returning In 2023?
The question is, do we believe there is a legitimate possibility that Tom Brady returns? Personally, I’m not holding too much stock into this becoming a reality. If Tua Tagovailoa is ready to go next season, the Dolphins have their starter and have to decide soon enough whether to give him a fifth-year extension.
On Brady’s side, he has a lot of other ventures going on and seems to have been enjoying retirement and spending time with his kids as a single dad. Recently, Brady was in Vegas for UFC 285 where he watched cage-side with fellow Bucs Mike Evans, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin.
In his latest retirement announcement, Brady said that he’s done “for good.” Thing can always change, but the “for good” line made it feel like it’s legitimate this time.
The Bucs and Dolphins typically have a preseason game against one another given their close proximity. Over the last two seasons, they’ve also had joint practices leading up to the game. It would be quite the sight if Brady was in a Dolphins uniform getting reps against his old team. While all of this is just a hypothetical, the rumors about Brady’s possible return for one more season probably won’t end until the Week 1 of the regular season kicks off and Brady isn’t on a roster.
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