Next Team? Colin Cowherd Offers Interesting Tom Brady Theory

The San Francisco 49ers made one of the biggest splashes before the NFL trade deadline, acquiring Christian McCaffrey in a blockbuster deal with the Carolina Panthers.

The trade was identified as a move that could take the Niners over the top this season and position Jimmy Garoppolo and company as the team to beat the NFC. But while that might be partly true, Colin Cowherd believes John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan had an eye on the future when they landed the superstar running back.

On Friday’s episode of “The Herd,” Cowherd outlined how the McCaffrey megadeal might have been a precursor to the 49ers pursuing Tom Brady.

“Has anybody considered San Francisco made this for more than just now? They did it for Brady?” Cowherd asked on FS1. “Tom Brady’s career, what does he like? Veteran pass-catchers. He even liked Antonio Brown, Gronk (Rob Gronkowski). It takes Brady a long time to get comfortable with wide receivers, especially kids. So San Francisco’s had Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk’s still pretty young. But here’s what we know: Brady did it again this week. He went on his podcast complaining about Tampa not being buttoned up. He made a point to say it’s not about dropping passes. ‘We’re just not prepared, we’re not buttoned up.’ He said this three or four times. Why? Because it’s happening, it’s frustrating and it makes it easier to leave.”

Cowherd added: “They’re in a very weird quarterback spot in San Francisco. Brady’s getting older, his parents are getting older — they’re around the Bay Area. You got Trey Lance, you have no idea if he can play. And Jimmy Garoppolo, you worry about his health and you worry about if he gets outplayed in big games against a (Patrick) Mahomes, an (Josh) Allen, a (Joe) Burrow or a Jalen Hurts. Brady has no loyalty to Florida. I mean, there’s no real loyalty to Florida — maybe a tax break. I just think John Lynch knows Brady, Kyle Shanahan knows Brady.

“Kyle Shanahan faced Brady in a Super Bowl. Do you remember that Super Bowl? Do you remember what Brady ate Atlanta alive doing? Throwing to James White, a running back. I think he had like 13 or 14 catches, a touchdown, over 100 yards. Shanahan sat and watched that for three and a half hours. He knows Brady and pass-catching running backs are unstoppable. Nobody makes a big decision for one reason. They gave up a lot of picks to an expensive running back with a lot of injuries. I think they did it for now. Kind of feels like Shanahan had that in the corner: ‘Tommy would like this. Tommy would really like this.”

Brady playing in San Francisco next season probably can’t be completely ruled out. Both the 45-year-old and Garoppolo are on expiring contracts, and if Brady feels like he has enough left in the tank, he might not be inclined to return to Tampa Bay in 2023 in wake of the Bucs’ struggles this season. The 49ers also might believe Brady’s presence could be very beneficial in Lance’s development.

Finishing his NFL career in the region where his love for football was born would be a pretty poetic way for Brady to go out. And given the way the Niners are set up for next season, TB12 realistically could ride off into the sunset with his eighth Super Bowl title.