While it certainly feels like this could be Tom Brady’s final NFL season, can we really say for sure?
Dan Patrick on Tuesday asked Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer for the most likely scenario involving Brady next season: The quarterback plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, moves into the broadcast booth to begin his massive TV contract with FOX or chooses a different path?
Breer didn’t offer a definitive answer, acknowledging there are a lot of variables to consider, but the NFL insider also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Brady joining another franchise for the 2023 campaign — like, say, the San Francisco 49ers.
“I don’t think it’s impossible,” Breer said. ” … I will say this, I thought about the idea of San Francisco. If they decide Trey Lance isn’t ready and Jimmy (Garoppolo) wants to leave and Jimmy leaves, the Niners have had this discussion. The Niners had this discussion this year — ‘If Tom was available to us, would we do it?’ They had that conversation this year, and the light was sorta left on for that.
“I think there’s a competitive part of him that if the Niners decided, ‘We want to make a run at Tom Brady, with the core that we have,’ and we see the urgency with which they sorta built their team, I think that would be really tempting for Tom.”
The 49ers — Brady’s favorite team growing up in California — were kicked around as a potential landing spot when he reached free agency in 2020 after 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. He ultimately chose Tampa Bay, but a lot — including his family dynamic — has changed since that decision, so perhaps he’d consider taking his talents to the Bay Area in 2023 if the Niners came calling.
“I do know a major part of Tom’s decision to go to the Buccaneers, and not the Chargers, in 2020 was because his son, Jack, lives in New York, and it would be much easier for him to get up to see Jack on off-days in New York coming from Tampa than it would be coming from LA,” Breer said. “So I think that piece of it is important to him, as well.”
“I think some of the idea of him playing again could be circumstantial, based on what is out there for him,” Breer added. “Because I don’t think this is a situation where he doesn’t think he can play anymore. I think he probably believes that he could play at 46 years old. Whether or not he has the drive for it, I can’t say. I think he’s the only one who can say whether or not he wants to do it that badly. And I do think the family part of it would be a pretty significant consideration for him.”
Of course, it’s fair to wonder whether the 49ers even would be interested in pursuing Brady. Not only will he turn 46 years old before next season, San Francisco also seemed content with handing the keys to Trey Lance before the 2021 first-round pick suffered a season-ending broken ankle in September, thrusting Jimmy Garoppolo back into action for the Niners.
