INDIANAPOLIS — Dolphins owner Stephen Ross doused the Tom Brady-to-Miami rumors with cold water during Super Bowl week. Brian Flores did nothing to reignite that flame Tuesday.
Speaking with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Dolphins coach echoed Ross’s previous comments. Ross said earlier this month he could not see why Brady, a six-time Super Bowl winner who will be 43 when the 2020 season begins, would want to join a Miami team that’s in the midst of a rebuild.
“I agree with Steve as far as, ‘Why would he want to come to Miami?'” said Flores, who won four Super Bowls with Brady as a New England Patriots assistant. “I do. I’ll leave it at that. I do agree with Steve.”
The Dolphins are expected to use a high draft pick on a quarterback this spring (Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are the top two candidates, assuming Joe Burrow goes first overall to the Cincinnati Bengals) and roll with journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick while that young QB develops.
Fitzpatrick guided a talent-deprived Miami team to five wins in its final nine games this season, including a stunning Week 17 upset of the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“Look, I think Fitz did a good job — a really good job — last year,” Flores said. “His leadership is something that really helped us a year ago. I’m only focused on the guys that are on our team right now. As far as Tom or any other free agents, that’s coming up. I understand the question but right now, we’re having conversations, we kind of look at everything.
“(General manager Chris Grier), myself, the personnel staff, we look at everything, every avenue. Chris has got a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C for everything. And that’s a good thing. We kind of bounce a lot of ideas off each other. It’s a really good working relationship, and we’ll see what happens as we move forward.”
Brady is set to hit free agency for the first time in his NFL career March 18, making this a pivotal offseason for the Patriots organization. Despite that uncertainty, Flores doesn’t view New England — winner of each of the last 11 AFC East titles and 16 of the previous 17 — as a vulnerable target.
“I don’t see them every being vulnerable,” he said.
Brady was a popular topic discussion during Tuesday’s media availability, with coaches and/or GMs from the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers also fielding questions about the Patriots QB.
