One NFL executive believes a team will move off the potential future of its franchise in order to make room for the greatest quarterback of all time.
The Tom Brady-to-San Francisco hypothetical became a bit more sensible as quarterback problems doomed the 49ers in Sunday's NFC Championship Game. The Niners were forced to roll with their fourth signal-caller of the season in Philadelphia and eventually closed the game with a rookie who couldn't throw more than a few yards due to an elbow injury.
Brady, if he wants to keep playing, soon will be ripe for the taking on the open market if Kyle Shanahan and company want to stabilize their QB situation. One league exec believes the Bay Area native will, indeed, sign with the hometown 49ers, who also will make a major corresponding move.
"I think they will trade Trey Lance to Tennessee and then they will end up with Brady and Brady will play one year for his home team, and they will have Brock Purdy as the backup," the exec told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "That is the chatter. They have the defense already, Brady wants to win one more, and this is right up the 49ers' alley."
The Titans could use a quarterback upgrade, but it probably wouldn't make sense for Tennessee to trade for Lance if San Francisco attaches a steep asking price. The Titans already are working on a project quarterback in Malik Willis, who now has a full year of experience in Nashville under his belt. Lance's raw talent probably exceeds Willis', but the North Dakota State product still is a total unknown given how little football he's played since 2020.
So, convincing Brady to come to San Francisco probably would be pretty easy for the Niners, if they're interested. But mapping out the rest of their quarterback depth chart could become very challenging.
