After a long wait, retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady has finally addressed the rumors about the San Francisco 49ers having interest in signing him last year.
Before Brady announced his second (and official) retirement in February of last year, there was speculation that the 49ers would look to sign the seven-time Super Bowl-winning QB. Starting signal-caller Brock Purdy was going to spend most of the offseason recovering from surgery on a torn UCL, and Trey Lance would eventually get traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
Once Brady retired, however, it was rather obvious that Kyle Shanahan and company were going to stick with Purdy. There are certainly no regrets now, seeing that Purdy put together an MVP-like season en route to a Super Bowl 58 berth.
The 46-year-old broke his silence on the 49ers rumors during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” (h/t Daniel Bates of The Spun). As you’d expect, Brady wouldn’t exactly confirm nor deny the speculation about his childhood team having interest:
“In this last season, there’s a lot of different things that people would suggest, but I kind of just kept my mind focused on where I wanted to go. Again, this was a great year for me to sit back and watch and learn and get prepared for being in the Fox booth next year.”
"Brock Purdy has done a great job and I know he's got a chip on his shoulder..
I have so much respect for the 49ers organization and Kyle Shanahan" @TomBrady
#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/jn4HaCuK0c— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 30, 2024
Brady might not have answered the question, but Nick Wagoner of ESPN provided confirmation on the 49ers’ interest earlier this month. Per Wagoner, Shanahan informed Purdy that he would retain his starting QB job in 2024 UNLESS Brady decided he wanted to come to the west coast.
Brady’s decision to retire left the 49ers with an easy choice to move forward with Purdy, and the second-year QB certainly left them with no regrets. He completed 69.4 percent of his pass attempts for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Now, 2022 “Mr. Irrelevant” has the 49ers 60 minutes away from capturing Super Bowl No. 6.
