In 2020, Tom Brady was coming off one of his more unspectacular seasons—for Tom Brady, that is. Most felt the quarterback, then entering his 21st NFL season, was trending downward. One team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, took a flier on the future Hall of Famer. Brady led them to a Super Bowl championship in his first season there, making those who doubted him look foolish.
One of the teams who doubted that Brady could still play Brady-like football was the San Francisco 49ers. Brady reportedly wanted to be a Forty-Niner, the team he grew up cheering for. However, San Francisco was coming off a Super Bowl appearance and felt a then-29-year-old Jimmy Garoppolo had more upside than a quarterback who was 14 years older. So the 49ers passed on Brady.
Two years later, the 49ers are still trying to sort out their quarterback position. They entered the offseason with second-year quarterback Trey Lance as the starter. He suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 and will enter his third season with only four career NFL starts.
Unable to trade Garoppolo in the offseason, the veteran quarterback returned on a restructured one-year deal and stepped in for the injured Lance. Then Garoppolo suffered a significant foot injury last weekend and may not see the field again this season. He is set to become a free agent.
Who knows what the plan might be for 2023? It will probably be Lance. Of course, there is speculation that the 49ers might be fed up with the quarterback situation and look to do something even more drastic than trading a haul of draft picks to select Lance.
The 49ers will host Brady and the Buccaneers this weekend, and when asked if he was surprised by the now-45-year-old quarterback's success in the tail end of his career, there was an aura of regret in head coach Kyle Shanahan's response.
"I'd like to say, 'Of course not,' but I think everyone's since then, you're wondering when is the number (age) too high?" Shanahan told reporters this past week. "But now, when you watch him that first week in Tampa, you're like, 'What the hell was anyone ever thinking?'
"The dude looks the exact same [as] he did that year (in 2020). ... I think he's playing as good now and throwing the ball as well now as I've seen anybody ever do it."
One Buccaneers insider, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, believes that sense of regret might lead to a brief 49ers-Brady marriage to end the quarterback's career. Brady is slated to become a free agent, assuming he doesn't retire (again) after this season.
If he does play on, which, at this point, would come as a surprise to no one, the 49ers might be a desirable destination—and not just because playing for the team was a childhood dream.
The roster is loaded, and the defense is the best—by far—in the league. It's so good that no one is writing them off despite entering Week 14 with a rookie quarterback who started the season third on the depth chart. Moreover, the offense has playmakers everywhere you look. There are wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle, and running back Christian McCaffrey. It's a recipe for a championship. Just insert good quarterback play.
"Even though they twice rejected him, it might make sense for the 49ers to swallow hard and see if the seven-time champion can get them to a Super Bowl and win it," wrote Stroud. "Their roster is loaded with the NFL's top defense and tons of speed, a commitment to running the football, and a good offensive line.
"Also, don't underestimate what playing near his home in San Mateo, California, would mean to Brady, as well as becoming part of the 49ers' quarterback legacy with Joe Montana and Steve Young."
Plus, the 49ers have a coach who admires—maybe even more than he did two years ago—what Brady has done over his career.
"Tom, he plays the position better than anyone ever, and he's definitely the G.O.A.T., from what I've seen," Shanahan said. "But I don't say that just because he has won Super Bowls. I say it because of how he plays the position. The ball always goes to the right spot, and that answer is based off of a thousand different things that could be matchups, it could be the coverage, that could be based off of down and distance, the time in the game, how the defense is playing.
"If you just watch him throughout his whole life and you see him make a decision, and you see him make a different decision in the second quarter, he just has command of the game and knows how to win it and what it takes, whatever that is. He's kind of flawless in his technique, how he gets everyone the ball, and he's done that his whole career.
"But his throwing mechanics, they only get better each year, so I feel like his arm's stronger now than it was 10 years ago, and his legs moved just as good as they did 10 years ago. They weren't great then, but he's extremely efficient and quick in the pocket and knows where to look and knows where to get the ball to, and he's still the best to play."
The 49ers may very well push forward with Lance, as they hoped to do this year. That certainly seems to be the most likely scenario. But if Brady comes into Levi's Stadium on Sunday and wins a chess match against a stout 49ers defense, Shanahan might start to have second thoughts.
"The 49ers could wait another year on Trey Lance. If they want Brady, you have to think he'd be interested," Stroud added.