Ultimatum?

This is just fun stuff.

In the same “God Bless Football” podcast in which former Bucs quarterback and current NBC football analyst Chris Simms claimed the Dolphins tried to heist Tom Brady by dangling a second-round pick in front of the Bucs’ faces, Simms made another claim that was awfully juicy.

He says the Bucs all but gave Brady a deadline of sorts to either stay retired or let them know he was coming back.

Per Simms, a Bucs official told Brady to advise the team of his immediate plans or the Bucs were going to start chasing Deshaun Watson and other potential quarterbacks, cites Nate Bouda of NFL Trade Rumors. He transcribed Simms’ podcast appearance.

“Tampa Bay called Brady, from what I know,” Simms said. “And was basically like, ‘Hey, we are going to start flirting with some of these quarterbacks that are out here, Deshaun Watson.’ They were going to get serious about all those conversations.

“That’s when Brady was like, Alright, I guess I have to make a decision here. I don’t really have any other options. I’m going to come back to you guys.'”

Well, this is more believable than the Dolphins were trying to acquire Brady with a second-round pick to be a minority owner. That’s not how it works.

Investors pay the Dolphins or any other team to become a minority owner, not the other way around — unless you stretch your mind to believe Miami owner Stephen Ross had the mob order him to go get Brady to be a minority owner. Sort of like how Tony Soprano took over his friend’s sporting goods store when the friend couldn’t pay back loans from the Sopranos’ outfit.

(No, Joe is not suggesting any NFL owner is tied up with the mob. Just wild, fictional illustration to demonstrate how nuts it is to believe an NFL owner would pay another team draft capital to acquire a minority owner. It’s nuts.)

Bouda notes the Bucs “vehemently” deny they squeezed Brady to return. As for Brady? He’s silent about this, naturally.

It seems the only way to wake up Brady these days on social media is if it’s time to sell something, or a valuable teammate suggests Brady big-leagued him by not giving up his cell phone number.

Meanwhile, former Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians continues to twist in the wind.