NFL Analysis
Could the Miami Dolphins Turn to Tom Brady at Quarterback?
The Miami Dolphins lost their Thursday Night Football game in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills. They also lost their starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. The QB exited in the third quarter with a head injury, quickly diagnosed as a concussion. Tagovailoa suffered at least one concussion while playing collegiately for Alabama and two more in 2022 with the Dolphins. The situation leaves his immediate and long-term health in question, on and off the football field.
Everyone hopes Tua Tagovailoa makes a complete recovery from his latest concussion. In a perfect world, he would return to playing for the Miami Dolphins in Week 3 and never suffer another concussion again for the rest of his career. Unfortunately, a perfect world and the real world are often unrelated.
The unfortunate reality for all involved is that Tua Tagovailoa might not be ready to play again in Week 3 or Week 18, for that matter. He might retire from playing professional football altogether for his health’s sake. Those answers will come in time. It’s a scary and sad reality of professional football. If Tagovailoa does walk away, a team as talented on paper as the Dolphins might want to upgrade from backup Skylar Thompson at quarterback. Perhaps they would turn to the GOAT.
Also Read – The All-Patriots Team of the Tom Brady Era
Could Tom Brady Play for the Miami Dolphins?
Is a 47-year-old who retired in 2022 the best option for the Miami Dolphins? Very possibly. Who would ever bet against Tom Brady to do something improbable and amazing? In 2022, his final NFL season, Brady led the league in completions while throwing for 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions.
The Miami Dolphins coveted Tom Brady for years. The Dolphins wanted Brady so badly that the team got stripped of a first-round draft pick and owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million for tampering (the punishment included Miami tampering with Brady and coaching option Sean Payton).
Goodell: "Investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity. I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition of tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of other clubs, over a period of several years."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 2, 2022
Would Tom Brady be a better option at quarterback than Skylar Thompson in 2024? Most likely, yes. Would he consider it? This is what he had to say back in April about a possible return to playing.
“I’m not opposed to it,” replied Brady about a possible return to the NFL if a team called him to play. “I don’t know if they’re (the NFL) going to let me, by becoming an owner of an NFL team. But I don’t know if…I don’t know…
“I’m always going to be in good shape, always be able to throw the ball. So to come in like MJ (Michael Jordan) coming back. I don’t know if they’d (the NFL) let me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
Patriots Fans React to the Possibility
The idea of Tom Brady playing for the Miami Dolphins got floated online on Friday, courtesy of a uniform edit.
God-willing Tua is okay and we will get to see him again.
If he’s not, the only person that makes sense to replace them for this year is Tom Brady.
Tom lives right nearby, his kids live in Florida.
The #Dolphins previously tampered to try to sign him & they have HILL & WADDLE. pic.twitter.com/SBxQFyypE6
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 13, 2024
How did New England Patriots react to seeing Tom Brady in a Miami Dolphins uniform? About as well as one would expect. It looked like the stages of grief, beginning with denial.
— Jen O (@JenOmeter) September 13, 2024
Is confusion one of the stages?
— Bobsig 19 (@joese0h82788) September 13, 2024
Some responses qualified as anger, though were not suitable to repost here.
The Reality
In reality, Tom Brady’s suiting up for the Miami Dolphins, or any other NFL team in 2024, is remote. He began his 10-year, $375 million deal with FOX in Week 1. As stated above, he has a pending minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. That “conflict of interest” has already impacted Tom Brady’s broadcasting gig. To think it would not have even more complications for him to play in the NFL seems unrealistic.
Brady would have to work out his contract situation with FOX, who would have to find another broadcaster for their top team after the start of the season. He would need to clear up the ownership conflict, likely by withdrawing it. And Brady would have to take a significant pay cut to play. Plus, regardless of what great shape he states he keeps himself in, he has not played or practiced with an NFL in two seasons. That is a lot of work without any time for the most prepared player in NFL history to get on the same page as the Dolphins coaching staff and players.
Ryan Tannehill, Mac Jones, and Justin Fields all feel like more likely options to be under center for the Miami Dolphins than Tom Brady this season. But in his own words, Brady wouldn’t be opposed to an NFL return. Does that mean it will happen? Stay tuned.
