There’s been an incredible amount of talk over the last two NFL offseasons about the chances of Tom Brady going to the Miami Dolphins. The latest to weigh in on that is another former New England Patriots’ quarterback, who’s also been a radio analyst for the team since 2012 and currently hosts a daily Boston sports radio show. That would be Scott Zolak, who weighed in on this on his 98.5 The Sports Hub/NBC Sports Boston show Zolak and Bertrand Wednesday:
.@scottzolak: "Brady may go to Miami… I think that's 100% in play" 👀@ZoandBertrand pic.twitter.com/rkyFEb1Tmd
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) March 8, 2023
This comes after the likes of Joe Buck, Rich Eisen, Colin Cowherd, and more have all raised doubts about Brady’s retirement and/or broadcasting future, with Eisen and Cowherd particularly mentioning the Dolphins. Brady denied a NFL return himself with a tweet about raising a kitten Tuesday, but he has changed his mind before, and Zolak said not to take that tweet as gospel. Here’s a transcription of Zolak’s comments from Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk:
“Brady may go to Miami. I think that’s in play. I do. I think the possibility of him coming out of retirement is definitely 100 percent in play,” Zolak said. “You can sit there and look at the kitten tweet from yesterday. Don’t buy that.”
Zolak noted that several media people with connections in the football world are saying they’re hearing that Brady could play in the right situation.
“This isn’t me saying it,” Zolak said. “This isn’t someone close to Brady. It started with Rich Eisen. Eisen’s at the Super Bowl. Multiple people dropped the hints. Colin Cowherd, he knows some Fox people. I don’t think he’s gonna call games. How does that deal get done? How do you sign a guy to that $375 million, 10-year contract to call games, he’s not even gonna do it next year. I know his handlers have moved to Miami. It’s built for him. He’s looking at private schools for his kids. Cowherd talks about the San Francisco offense. He’s not talking about San Francisco. He’s talking about Mike McDaniel in Miami.”
The “I know his handlers have moved to Miami” and “He’s looking at private schools for his kids” lines feel particularly interesting and quite specific. And it’s certainly not out of the realm of plausibility that Zolak has actual information there, considering that he was around Brady and Brady’s camp regularly as a media figure (he had several other media jobs before taking the Patriots’ radio role in 2012) during the quarterback’s time with New England. But Zolak is also basing at least part of this on comments from other media figures, so there is a risk of this all just being a self-perpetuating news story.
At this point, there doesn’t seem to be anything concrete on just what will happen next with Brady. But the situation could rapidly change. And it’s definitely interesting to have a long-time Patriots’ broadcaster adding to the chatter about Brady to Miami, and doing so with some notes about handlers and schools.
[NBC Sports Boston, Pro Football Talk]
