Getty Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was close to joining the Dolphins, according to Mike Florio.
Tom Brady will not play when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the preseason against the Miami Dolphins on August, 13, 2022. The decision is not a surprise as most NFL teams tend to rest the majority of their starters during the first preseason game.
A somewhat meaningless preseason matchup (at least for the veterans) took on renewed interest given Tom Brady’s ties to the Dolphins in the NFL’s recent tampering investigation centered around the Miami franchise. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed that “a lot of starters” will be sidelined against the Dolphins. Tampa Bay takes on Tennessee in their second preseason matchup on August 20.
“There will be a lot of starters that won’t play in that game,” Bowles explained during an August 3 press conference. “They’ll get plenty of work in practice, though, the two practices we’ll get to play similar to a game for those guys.
“We want to see some of the younger guys play that I’ve mentioned and try to build our depth a little bit and go from there. …[Brady] will not play in that game.”
Brady is expected to participate in the practices with the Dolphins leading up to the preseason matchup. Given that Kyle Trask is currently the third quarterback on the Bucs depth chart, fans may see a lot of the player who has a chance to be Brady’s successor whenever the legend walks away from football for good. Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin are the other Tampa Bay quarterbacks on the roster who could see action in the preseason opener.
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Brady Had Contact With the Dolphins During the Bucs Season in 2021
One of the more surprising revelations about the NFL’s six-month investigation into the Dolphins was that Brady had some form of contact with Miami during the 2021 season. The NFL’s press release did not go into great detail about the nature of this contact, and it is conceivable that Brady’s agent could have been the one conversing with the Dolphins. Even in this scenario, it is not a great look for the Buccaneers starting quarterback to have contact with an opposing franchise during the season, especially when he had another year left on his contract.
“The Dolphins again had impermissible communications with both Mr. Brady and his agent during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the NFL announced in a press release. “Those discussions began no later than early December 2021 and focused on Mr. Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins. Both Mr. Ross and Beal were active participants in these discussions.”
Brady Will Not Be Punished for His Contact With the Dolphins
Despite the NFL naming Brady in its investigation findings, the star quarterback will not face any league discipline, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine. Sean Payton was another person named in the investigation and the former Saints coach is not expected to be punished either.
“As @JennaLaineESPN reported, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told me that Tom Brady will not receive punishment for the Dolphins’ tampering scandal,” USA Today’s Henry McKenna tweeted on August 2. “Why? ‘Focus was on ownership,’ McCarthy said via text.”