Tom Brady continues to be cryptic when asked about the Dolphins, and Mike Florio thinks Tua Tagovailoa should draw his line in the sand.
The legendary quarterback has been linked to the Dolphins for years, but nothing has ever come to pass. But any time there have been whispers about Brady potentially coming out of retirement, even if it’s speculation, oftentimes Miami is thought of as one of the destinations.
He fanned those flames yet again this week when he was point blank asked if he would come out of retirement and play for the Dolphins. Instead of giving a straight answer, Brady meanedered and, above all else, didn’t say no.
“I will say now that I’m not affiliated with any team anymore, even though I have strong ties with a couple teams, I do have some friends on the Dolphins that I really like,” Brady said. “So, I wouldn’t say I necessarily root for them all the time, but I root for my friends to do well, and several of them play for Miami.”
That’s not necessarily a firm declaration that such a move is on his mind. But because of his refusal to answer the question directly, he continues to keep the Dolphins idea alive.
Florio said Friday on the “Joe Rose Show” that he’d love to see Tagovailoa fire back.
“I was stunned by what (Brady) said yesterday because there’s a certain point where it’s disrespectful to the guy who is currently the starting quarterback in Miami,” Florio said. “And if I’m Tua, I’m reaching out through back channels to Tom Brady and asking him to politely shut the ‘f’ up because I’m the quarterback here.
“'If you want to come take my job, come take my job. But if you’re truly retired and you’re just doing this for attention or whatever, don’t do it on my watch, don’t do it with my team. This is my job.' And I’d like to see some of that edge from Tua from time to time.”
Not many players would say such a thing to someone of Brady’s stature, let alone someone as typically mild-mannered as Tagovailoa.
“Wouldn’t you like to see that though? Sometimes Tua is too nice,” Florio said. “He went through that Deshaun Watson crap a couple years ago and he just took it from Brian Flores and company. At some point, wouldn’t you like to have Tua stand up and – I’d love to hear him say 'Hey, Tom Brady, just mind your own business. You’ve got your own issues, I’ve got my issues, you’re not coming here. I’m the quarterback here, keep my team’s name out of your mouth.'
“Of course, it would be good for our business too, but I’d love to see Tua show some fire like that.”