49ers GM addresses Tom Brady interest ahead of 2023 season

Earlier this week, retired quarterback Tom Brady danced around a question related to a recent story that revealed San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan planned to pursue Brady last offseason when signal-caller Brock Purdy was recovering from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. 

49ers general manager John Lynch addressed the Brady topic during the latest edition of "The Eye Test for Two" podcast that's hosted by Clark Judge and Ira Kaufman. 

"...The context of that was Brock got hurt in the NFC Championship Game, as everyone knows, [against the Philadelphia Eagles], and his elbow was really not in a good spot," Lynch explained, according to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "And I think, to look back now, unbelievably, almost a miraculous recovery. He beat the timeline and all that."

Brady grew up a San Francisco fan in San Mateo and reportedly wanted to join the 49ers before he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020. The 46-year-old retired "for good" in February 2023, and Purdy ultimately was cleared ahead of Week 1 of this past regular season. 

"And I think Kyle and Brock really have honest conversations," Lynch remarked. "At some point, he said, 'Look, I guess the one way you're not a starter if you're healthy is if we go get someone like Brady.' And I presume that's what happened, but anytime you mention something like that, it's obviously going to make quite a story."

For a piece published on Jan. 16, Purdy told Nick Wagoner of ESPN that Shanahan said last offseason: "If we can get Tom Brady, we're going to try to get him." Such a comment suggested Brady was Shanahan's first-choice QB1 roughly 12 months ago before the seven-time Super Bowl champion made it clear to teams he wasn't coming out of retirement a second time. 

"But it wasn't us saying to Brock, 'Hey, we're bringing in Brady. If not, maybe you're the starter,'" Lynch insisted. "It was, I think, more of a sign of belief in him that, 'Hey, you took us [far] in your rookie year. We believe that you're our guy. As you're healing up, just understand we may have to go secure some other options.'" 

This sounds like a classic tale of "two things can be true at once." While Lynch is understandably thankful that Purdy healed in time to emerge as a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate this fall, Shanahan could've still preferred Brady over the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft in the spring of 2023. 

Whether or not Brady will ever say if he came close to joining the 49ers as a free agent last year shall be seen. For what it's worth, Brady's father sounds convinced the future Hall of Famer wouldn't have called San Francisco home for the entire 2023 season.