Dream Ticket: Tom Brady and Tua Tagovailoa to the Miami Dolphins in 2020. Let’s discuss | Opinion
What becomes of an aging GOAT?
The question insisted itself suddenly upon America as Tom Brady hurried off New England’s home field in playoff defeat and disappeared into free agency. Had he just played his final game as a Patriot? His final game, period?
The possibilities for Brady’s future are many, and deliciously unknowable today.
He could retire and somehow scrape by on supermodel/wife Gisele Bundchen’s millions as he awaited his call from Canton, Ohio.
He could enter the open market (officially becoming a free agent on March 18) as teams in need of a pricey 42-year-old QB -- assuming there were any -- lined up in a bidding war.
Hey, what about the Dolphins!? They need an upgrade, and Brady is better than Ryan Fitzpatrick in every measurable category except beard-growing.
The idea of Brady as a one- or two-season luxury bridge to a QB Miami might draft and groom in 2020 does have some merit. Tua Tagovailoa on Monday officially declared for the upcoming NFL Draft as expected but is rehabbing from a serious hip injury. Scenario: Miami selects Tagovailao No. 5 overall and he learns under Brady in ‘20. Hey, it’s worth a quick daydream, at least. C’mon, Tom, aren’t you tired of living and playing in the snow? Miami had a cold snap this week. I think it even dipped into the 60s!
Or, of course, Brady could simply re-sign with the Patriots. But that’s no fun. Can’t we at least pretend to picture No. 12 in a different uniform as a flummoxed Bill Belichick had to try to win with somebody named “Jarrett Stidham?”
There is ample precedent for iconic NFL quarterbacks ending their career with a team other than the one with which they were most associated.
Peyton Manning, Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Kenny Stabler and Joe Montana, Hall of Famers all, come quickly to mind. Heck, Dan Marino, after the Dolphins moved on from him, seriously weighed signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers before his knees insisted he retire instead.
But it seems very doubtful (at least to me) that Brady will join that list, or retire.
I take Brady at his word when, after Saturday’s playoff elimination by Tennessee, he called retiring “pretty unlikely,” and “hopefully unlikely.” Clearly, the old GOAT feels he isn’t done yet. This is not about his legacy. That is indelibly set, no matter his decision. But he certainly doesn’t want a pick-six interception on his final pass attempt to be the punctuation on such an epic career.
I also take Pats owner Robert Kraft at his word when he says his “hope and prayer” is that Brady 1) will remain a Patriot or 2) will retire.
Belichick is yet to share his own hope and prayer regarding Brady’s future, but, with Jimmy Garoppolo long gone, it stretches credulity to imagine Belichick is ready to anoint Stidham (career pass attempts: four) as a better option than Brady.
Belichick is bearing down on Don Shula’s NFL records for most regular-season wins (328) and most including playoffs (347). He has 273 and 304. That’s four or five years away — but likely longer if Brady leaves, the dynasty screeches to a halt and Dolfan prayers are answered as New England lapses into rebuild mode.
It just makes sense from all directions that Brady would re-up with the Pats, and New Orleans and Drew Brees provided the template to follow when it comes to handling late-stage contracts for aging but still elite QBs.
Brees signed a two-year, $50 million deal in 2018, and is expected to stay a Saint with a similar deal as he too is set to become a free agent again in March.
So I would look for Brady to stay with New England on a one- or two-year deal.
But I might be in the minority on that.
Online gambling site sportsbetting.ag calls it very unlikely Brady will retire (“No” is minus-1500), but 50-50 at minus-120 for each whether he will be with the Patriots or another team in Week 1 of 2020.
There are betting odds on Brady signing with 21 other teams, led by the Browns at 5-1 and the Panthers and Raiders at 6-1. For those who scoffed at our idea of Brady signing with Miami, the Dolphins are 12-1 to land him — tied for the eighth in probability.
Now to reality, to what’s likely:
Dolphins draft Tagovailoa fifth overall. Fitzpatrick (signed through 2020) starts again for Miami until Tua is ready to take over. And Miami keeps doing what it has been trying to do for what seems an eternity:
Beat Tom Brady and the Patriots.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 1:03 PM.
