NFL Rumors: ‘Keep an eye on’ Tom Brady returning to NFL for 2023 season
By Josh Hill
NFL Network host Rich Eisen has fanned the Tom Brady flames and sparked some NFL rumors that suggest the GOAT might return in 2023.
Here we go again, there’s a new Tom Brady rumor floating out there to get NFL Rumors SZN kicked off properly.
We all knew this was coming, so shame on anyone who thought Brady announcing his retirement in February was truly the end of his story. Whether or not he actually comes back is almost beside the point, as rumors about Brady returning for one more season were bound to get kicked up at some point.
Why wait?
NFL Network host and reporter Rich Eisen threw the rumor onto the coals during his radio show on Monday and stepped back to watch the flames build. If anyone missed it when the show aired, NFL reporter Dov Kleiman shared the goods later in the afternoon.
“Number one rumor I heard at the combine, not in terms of a lot of chatter but this one just blew my mind, Tom Brady may not be done after all,” Eisen said on his show. “The one place folks are saying keep an eye out for is Miami.”
NFL Rumors: Is Tom Brady returning in 2023 to play for the Dolphins?
This is the culmination — or continuation — of rumors that were started last offseason when Brady first retired from the NFL. A league investigation into the Dolphins revealed later revealed that there was indeed smoke to the fire and Brady allegedly had plans to return for one more season with Miami and have Sean Payton as his head coach.
None of that ended up happening, and Brady instead returned to the Buccaneers for one of the most anticlimactic and disappointing seasons of both his career. The way Brady’s year with the Bucs ended naturally led some to believe that he would return to ensure he went out on a higher note.
Once again, there appears to be some smoke.
“If the Dolphins somehow someway get a doctor’s report or piece of information from a medical evaluation on Tua that he might not be ready to go and suddenly there’s Tom Brady sitting in Florida where his family is located and where he can easily locate himself,” Eisen continued. “Keep an eye on that, I was told by a couple of birdies at the combine.”
Brady and the Dolphins have been connected well before this, as questions about Tua’s health naturally created dots to be connected. There’s also the fact that Brady isn’t starting his upcoming deal with FOX until 2024 rather than this upcoming season, which many took as a sign that he was planning on returning.
It’s both ridiculous and totally believable that Brady would return for one more season. For as great as his career was, he’s a psycho about controlling the narrative — which he demonstrated by blowing up his home life so that Adam Schefter didn’t beat him to his own announcement last season.
The idea that his career ended on a losing season and a blowout playoff loss probably doesn’t sit well with Brady. If he has the chance to return and not only play for an offensive genius like Mike McDaniel but do so by sticking it to the Patriots twice in one season, he might take his chances and hope that the third time is the charm when it comes to retiring on his own terms and at the height of his profession.