Brock Purdy reflects on 49ers’ interest in Tom Brady last year

In February, Brock Purdy addressed the San Francisco 49ers' interest in Tom Brady from the previous year. On Monday, he was once again asked about his team's flirtation with the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Purdy understands the 49ers' thought process a year ago. With questions surrounding how quickly the young quarterback would recover from surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing arm, San Francisco explored its options and considered bringing in Brady for a one-year stint.

Ultimately, Brady chose to remain retired, and the 49ers moved forward with their emerging star. Purdy exceeded expectations by being ready ahead of schedule and a (mostly) full participant in training camp, and starting Week 1.

Purdy's performance last season was impressive: he played every game and threw for a single-season franchise record 4,280 passing yards, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl. His success surpassed what many had predicted.

Regarding the 49ers' interest in Brady, The Athletic's Tim Kawakami inquired about Purdy's perspective on the situation.

"I totally understood the fact Kyle and the team needed a quarterback for the next season," Purdy responded in the Monday interview. "So when he said 'Tom Brady,' I was like, all right, that's cool for your sake as a head coach, and for a team, to bring in the best of all time.

"But a little bit of me was like, all right, I'd just proven that I beat this guy this past year and that I'm good enough to take our team to, at the time, it was the NFC Championship. You know, I can obviously be the guy for this organization. … But given the circumstances of me being hurt and having some uncertainty at quarterback, I understand why he was willing to have that as a thought."

This response reflects Purdy's maturity and professionalism, especially in what some might consider an awkward situation. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan believed Purdy should see the Brady interest as a compliment.

"Now, Tom was the only guy I was willing to ride in and risk with Brock's injuries," Shanahan explained to Kawakami last week. "I told Brock that. I said, 'Brock, in these seven games, you've shown us you're not going to be competing with Trey (Lance) next year. If you come back healthy, it is your job. The only way it won't be your job is if Tom Brady decided to come here and play one year.'"

Purdy was the starter, and only a player like Brady could potentially change that. Shanahan viewed the situation as giving Purdy the keys to the offense.

"I was telling him how much and saying, 'There's this one outside chance, but I'm going to be dead honest with you. ... That's the only thing in the back of my head, and probably, there's not a very high percentage that's going to happen,'" Shanahan said.

Purdy understood his coach's reasoning given the circumstances, and the team-first player doesn't hold anything against the 49ers for exploring other options, viewing it as a testament to their commitment to building the best possible roster.

"Yeah, I get it," Purdy told Kawakami. "He was saying, 'We'd bring him in and you could heal up and then learn from the best of all time and then be the guy to come in after.' So I get the compliment of it, but at the same time, man, I'm ready to play right now and help this team win right now. So there's two sides of it for sure."

This year, the situation is different. Purdy has enjoyed his first full offseason as a starter after recovering from his injury last year and battling to make an impression as a rookie in 2022. He is now the leader of the team, having earned the respect of his teammates and coaches.

Purdy aims to help the 49ers redeem themselves after last season's Super Bowl defeat by helping guide the storied franchise to its sixth championship.