Skip Bayless is among those who believe Tom Brady’s days with the New England Patriots are over.
So, where does the polarizing talking head see the greatest quarterback in NFL history signing this offseason?
Bayless has shared various thoughts on the subject ahead of Brady’s first foray into free agency, but he believes there’s one team that represents the “ultimate match” for the six-time Super Bowl champion: the San Francisco 49ers.
Obviously, this feels like a long shot given San Francisco’s apparent commitment to Brady’s former teammate, Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers just made it to the Super Bowl — where they lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs — with Garoppolo under center, so perhaps they simply should stay the course. But it sure would be a fascinating conclusion to the Brady sweepstakes, all things considered.
“The ultimate match of quarterback and team — the fairy-tale story, the storybook ending — would be Tom goes home to the 49ers,” Bayless said on Friday’s episode of “Undisputed” on FS1. “Why wouldn’t they cut bait with a Jimmy G that clearly (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan has not bought completely into? He had lots of nice moments, but in the biggest moments in the playoffs, they took the ball out of his hands until the fourth quarter when it was too late of the Super Bowl, and then they tried to put it back in his hands, and you know the rest of the story.
“Tom grew up right there in San Mateo, in the shadow of what was Candlestick Park, a 49er fan. So he would love to play for a team — is it not on the verge of winning a Super Bowl? They would have won that Super Bowl (against the Chiefs) if he’d been the quarterback, right? They can get out from under Garoppolo very easily.”
"For Tom Brady, the ultimate match of QB and team and the fairy tale story would be Tom goes home to the 49ers." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/4nhM6LOiUE
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 28, 2020
This would be a huge gamble for the 49ers, who acquired Garoppolo — Brady’s former backup — from the Patriots for a second-round pick during the 2017 season. Garoppolo turns 29 in November, whereas Brady is entering his age-43 campaign. Brady’s best football appears to be behind him, while Garoppolo is coming off his first full season as a starting quarterback and seemingly has room for continued growth.
Bayless isn’t willing to let that stand in the way of an intriguing narrative, though. He even wondered Friday whether Garoppolo would wind up back with New England if Brady somehow made his way to San Francisco in free agency.
“If you just cut (Garoppolo), which you could do, I assume (Bill) Belichick would take him back (to the Patriots),” Bayless said. “I don’t know that for a fact, but maybe you just sort of swap quarterbacks. Or maybe, if Bill liked that salary structure enough, you could just flip it back for the (second-round pick).
” … What would make the most sense for me is for Tom Brady to make the call to (49ers general manager) John Lynch or to Kyle Shanahan — whichever — and try to figure out if that would be a fit.”
Makes you think. Although, again, signing Brady would require the 49ers to make a very bold decision, much like the Dallas Cowboys would be rolling the dice if they cut ties with Dak Prescott this offseason in favor of TB12.
