San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch revisited one noteworthy rumor of the past, which linked his organization to retired all-time great Tom Brady.
Before Brady officially called it a career in the NFL back on Feb. 1, speculations began to appear from thin air. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a quick and easy bounce from the playoffs, courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys, leading many to believe that Brady would once again take his talents elsewhere in search of an eighth Super Bowl title. And that’s where the 49ers came in.
However, Lynch deflected the Brady rumors and instead tipped his cap to the 45-year-old on Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
“I sent him a text when he retired,” Lynch told reporters, according to Chris Mason of MassLive. “He was a teammate for about three weeks at one point. So I sent him a text just congratulations on one of the greatest careers I’ve ever seen in any sport. I wished him the best. So we’ll leave it at that.”
The 49ers, who reside not too far from Brady’s hometown of San Mateo, Calif., had their own quarterback situation. San Francisco rode the Brock Purdy train from Week 9 until the NFC Championship Game where the 23-year-old suffered an elbow injury requiring surgery, which is expected to sideline him for an extended period of time — possibly leaving the door open for next season’s 49ers signal caller, right?
Well, who knows at this point?
Lynch also provided a fairly established stance on the 49ers’ relationship with Jimmy Garoppolo, who played 11 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury. Trey Lance also remains in recovery from his broken ankle in Week 2.
“I do believe that it’s probably run its course,” Lynch said about Garoppolo, per Mason. “But I think we leave nothing but fond memories for Jimmy and Jimmy is going to play good football for someone.”
