One NFL team has apparently dropped out of the Tom Brady sweepstakes.
The Dolphins are not expected to pursue the Buccaneers quarterback if he decides to return for a 24th season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who reported that Miami is committed to Tua Tagovailoa as their starter in 2023.
Brady, who turns 46 in August, is a free agent for the second time in his career and will eventually make a decision to return for the 2023 season or retire for good.
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Tagovailoa had a breakout season under first-year head coach Mike McDaniel and set career highs in passing yards (3,548) and touchdowns (25). The 24-year-old quarterback was in MVP conversations before injuries and concussions sidelined him for multiple games.
Tagovailoa has been in the concussion protocol since Dec. 26 after suffering his second documented concussion of the season in a loss to the Packers on Christmas Day. He will not participate in next weekend’s Pro Bowl Games.
The Dolphins were one of the first teams linked to Brady, which wasn’t a surprise to some, given their history. In 2019, Miami reportedly planned to pursue Brady in a pairing with former Saints coach Sean Payton, but never came to fruition and former Miami coach Brian Flores filed a landmark race discrimination lawsuit on Feb. 1, 2022. An NFL investigation later discovered that the Dolphins tampered with Brady numerous times while he was with the Patriots. The NFL fined Dolphins owner Stephen Ross $1.5 million and suspended him for the first six weeks of the 2022 season.
Brady spent 20 seasons with New England — winning six Super Bowls — before he signed with the Buccaneers in March 2020 and won another Super Bowl that season.
Brady’s third season with the Buccaneers ended in a loss to the Cowboys in the wildcard round.
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In what could be the last press conference of his NFL career, Brady thanked reporters for their time covering him in Tampa Bay, but gave no indication about his future plans.
As his free agency continues to stir headlines, Brady has also been linked to the Raiders, 49ers and Titans.
During a recent episode of his Sirius XM “Let’s Go” podcast, when co-host Jim Gray asked about his future, Brady became agitated and said, “Jim, if I knew what I was going to f–king do, I would have already f–king done it,” Brady said. “I’m taking it a day at a time.”
Brady finished the season with 4,694 yards — third most in the NFL — and 25 touchdowns. Although the Buccaneers won the NFC South title, they finished with an 8-9 record in one of Brady’s most challenging seasons of his career.
The 45-year-old Brady navigated a divorce, confirming in October that he and his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen finalised their separation after 13 years of marriage.
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Brady and Bündchen have two children together, daughter Vivian, 10, and 13-year-old son Benjamin. Brady also has a 15-year-old son Jack with his ex, actress Bridget Moynahan.
Whenever Brady decides to step away from playing football, he will join Fox Sports as its lead analyst, calling the NFL’s biggest games. Last May, The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported that Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports.
PACKERS REPORTEDLY ‘PREFER TO MOVE ON’ FROM RODGERS
Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Packers is looking bleak.
With speculation mounting about the Jets potentially pursuing Rodgers, Green Bay trading its longtime quarterback is possible due in part to financial reasons, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday. The state of the team, which finished the season with an 8-9 record, as well as the feelings on both sides, are also factors for not closing the door on a potential trade.
According to the outlet, league sources believe the Packers “prefer to move on from Rodgers, just as it once did with Brett Favre” — adding that those same sources believe the 39-year-old Rodgers is “well aware of the Packers’ feelings on the situation.”
Favre — who won a Super Bowl and three NFL MVPs in his 16-season tenure with Green Bay — was traded from the Packers to the Jets at age 38. He had turned 39 by the time he played his first season with New York.
Rodgers addressed trade rumours and his relationship with the Packers organisation during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
“All the trade stuff is conjecture until I decide what I want to do moving forward for myself,” Rodgers said, adding that a trade “wouldn’t offend me, and it wouldn’t make me feel like a victim.”
Rodgers, who has spent his entire 18-year career with the Packers, said that he is “open to all honest and direct conversations” with the Packers about his future.
“That’s number one — if I want to play,” Rodgers said. “Number two, it’s got to be mutual on both sides. What does a team look like with me? What are the proposed direction of players they want to bring in and where I fit in and the prospects moving forward? You want to be part of a team that’s going to win a championship. … I don’t need all my guys to be there. … It’s kind of the feel of the team.”
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The Packers are facing a potential rebuild, which Rodgers has said he wants no part of. The team could decide to move on from him with his replacement, Jordan Love, whom Green Bay drafted in the first-round in 2020.
The Packers also have a slew of veteran soon-to-be free agents, including some of Rodgers’ close friends: Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, Allen Lazard and Mason Crosby.
Rodgers has been at the center of recent trade rumours with the Jets, who on Thursday hired his former offensive coordinator in Green Bay, Nathaniel Hackett.
Rogers has $110 million left on his contract extension that he signed with Green Bay last spring. The reigning two-time MVP is due $59.5 million in guaranteed money this year and another $49.25 million in 2024.
The Packers currently are projected to be more than $16 million over next season’s salary cap, according to ESPN. They also have to decide on Love’s fifth-year option, which would be worth an estimated $20 million, fully guaranteed by May 1.
