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The Tom Brady unretirement speculation has begun

Matthew Slater on his decision to return for a 16th season with Patriots
Matthew Slater on his decision to return for a 16th season with Patriots 05:17

BOSTON -- Another year, another round of speculation that Tom Brady will come out of retirement.

With hundreds of NFL minds gathered in Indianapolis last week for the Scouting Combine, inside information and rumors were swirling all around town. And it was only a matter of time before someone heard something about a certain retired quarterback potentially coming back to the NFL this coming season.

That someone was Rich Eisen, who passed along the top five rumors he caught wind of during Combine week. The top spot on that list had to do with Brady.

"Number one rumor I heard at the combine -- not in terms of a lot of chatter, but this one just blew my mind," Eisen said on his show. "Tom Brady may not be done after all."

As for a landing spot, Eisen said "the one place that folks are saying keep an eye out for is Miami." With Tua Tagovailoa suffering three concussions last year, and if the 25-year-old quarterback isn't cleared to play, the door may open for the soon-to-be-46-year-old quarterback to play for the Dolphins.

"Suddenly there's Tom Brady sitting in Florida, where his family is located and where he can easily locate himself," Eisen said. "Keep an eye on that, I was told by a couple of birdies at the combine."

Eisen said he pushed back a bit when hearing the speculation, but was told to let the draft and free agency play out over the coming weeks to see what the landscape looks like.

"A couple of people were like, 'Just hang on. Just you wait.' And I'm like, he's Instagramming out videos of his cat, you know?" Eisen said. "But it doesn't look like he's getting big and fat, does it? And that he just ... let it play out, let's see who wants what."

Obviously, that all depends on whether or not Brady wants to play. He announced his retirement on Feb. 1, and though he made that decision seem final, he did admit that he wasn't sure how he'd feel in the future, thus leaving open the door for speculation just like this to take place.

As of now, Brady is still retired. But the first NFL season without Brady since the '90s may end up getting pushed back another year after all.

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