49ers could eye Brady in late playoff run as they did with Rivers

It almost happened 15 months ago. By "almost," we mean if the 49ers had somehow overcome injuries to their only two active quarterbacks and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game. Yes, the 49ers were planning to lure Philip Rivers out of retirement for the Super Bowl, as coach Kyle Shanahan revealed a few months after the fact. Now, any team in a similar desperate situation late in the season can plan on making their first phone call to seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. Brady, who turns 47 on Aug. 3, said on a recent "DeepCuts with VicBlends" appearance that he is keeping the door open to return to the NFL if he has a chance to win an eighth Super Bowl as an emergency fill-in. "I'm not opposed to it," Brady said. "I don't know if they're going to let me if I become an owner of an NFL team. I don't know. I'm always going to be in good shape, always going to be able to throw the ball. So, to come in for a little bit, like (Michael Jordan) coming back? I don't know if they'd let me, but I wouldn't be opposed to it." Teams are constantly updating their contingency plans at every position. And the 49ers identified Rivers as an available player they would...