As Tom Brady continues to mull his next career move, at least one team apparently plans to stay out of the mix of what could be a frantic free-agency pursuit of the seven-time Super Bowl champion: the Dolphins.
Miami is not expected to pursue Brady, even if the veteran quarterback decides to return to the NFL for the 2023 season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Instead, the Dolphins will stick with rising fourth-year signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa behind center.
Brady, who will turn 46 in August, has not yet announced if he plans to return for a 24th NFL season, but he stands to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the league year and should garner significant interest from teams around the league. He previously has been connected to the Dolphins, but the franchise was punished by the league this past offseason for tampering with Brady on multiple occasions in recent years.
Brady has made clear on more than one occasion that he plans to take his time when deciding what his future will entail after a difficult third season with the Buccaneers. The Bucs finished 8–9, narrowly scraping out an NFC South title before falling to the Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Though the team may not have lived up to expectations, Brady still excelled in his 23rd season. He passed for 4,694 yards, which ranked third in the NFL, in addition to throwing 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Schefter previously reported that Miami remained committed to Tagovailoa after a season that saw the 24-year-old suffer multiple concussions and miss four games. Though he posted career highs in passing yards (3,548) and touchdowns (25) this past season, the former No. 5 pick remains in the league’s concusssion protocol over a month after he entered for the second time on Dec. 26.
Despite lingering concerns about Tagovailoa’s long-term health, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier maintained that the franchise expects the quarterback to be back to fully next season. He also suggested the team has no reason to believe that Tagovailoa will be any more prone to concussions moving forward in his career.
