When Tom Brady announced the end of his faux-tirement, he said he loves his teammates.
“They make it all possible,” he tweeted.
And now he’s going to ditch them? That’s so weak.
Our old pal Dale Arnold tweeted Thursday he "would not be surprised" if Brady played somewhere other than Tampa Bay next season, hinting he could take his talents to South Beach (the Dolphins technically play in Miami Gardens, but you get the idea).
Later, Arnold told “Merloni and Fauria” that Brady and the Buccaneers are “working on” the aforementioned blockbuster deal.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Brady’s apparent interest in the Dolphins, and vice versa. Earlier this offseason, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reported Miami wanted to acquire Brady and pair him with Sean Payton, who resigned as head coach of the Saints. Florio’s sources told him the Dolphins were interested in adding Brady as a minority owner.
Brady is tight with real estate tycoon Bruce Beal, the league-approved successor for embattled Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Florio later reported Brian Flores’ lawsuit alleging racial discrimination derailed the plan — at least for now.
The idea of Brady finishing out his career in Miami makes a lot of sense. He’s a Florida Man, complete with a home on so-called Billionaire Bunker. Miami is also an international financial capital, and positioning itself as a cryptocurrency hub. It is the perfect place for Brady, who loves hobnobbing with business moguls and shilling for bitcoin.
And next year, he will be free to pursue his apparent new dream of putting on the aqua and orange. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and all of those speedy weapons will still be there.
But for this season, Brady is still under contract with the Buccaneers. His teammates are counting on him, and in many cases, reshuffled their professional lives to accommodate him.
Mike Evans and linebacker Shaq Barrett both restructured their deals to create more cap space, which allowed the Bucs to bring Chris Godwin back. Brady has also recruited multiple players to Tampa, including center Ryan Jensen and cornerback Logan Ryan. Leonard Fournette presumably re-signed to play another season with Brady as well (using the Patriots for leverage along the way).
Leaving those guys now would be an incredible betrayal. Brady can preach about listening to his inner-self and all the pseudo-buddhist nonsense he wants. The fact is, demanding a trade out of Tampa Bay now would be one of the most selfish moves in sports history.
The Buccaneers are publicly steadfast in their refusal to move Brady. At the NFL Combine, Bruce Arians told reporters it would be “bad business” to trade the all-time great.
Maybe Brady’s sudden retirement was a power play. There were reports about his dissatisfaction with Arians and Tampa Bay’s chaotic finish. Antonio Brown stripped off his uniform and left in the middle of a game; Arians smacked one of his own players. It was a mess, and yet, Brady’s right arm nearly saved them. He led the Bucs back from a 27-3 deficit against the Rams in the Divisional Round.
Then Tampa Bay failed to cover Cooper Kupp on a deep route.
But if Brady did request a trade in the 40 days he stepped away from football, the Buccaneers clearly denied his wish.
There is still a leverage game that Brady can play. He could threaten to sit out minicamp and training camp, refusing to report for the Bucs. At that point, maybe they would be forced to trade Brady, and at least get something in return for their petulant hired gun.
But that would look ridiculous. Forty-five-year-old Tom Brady holding out after reneging on his retirement?
Even A-Rod wouldn’t pull something like that.
But maybe Brady will. After all, he admitted he lies “90 percent of the time.” All of that excitement about returning to Tampa Bay may just be another ploy.
