49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed just how serious the team’s pursuit of future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady was last offseason.
In the wake of then-rookie quarterback Brock Purdy’s elbow injury during the NFC Championship game versus the Eagles in January 2023, followed by his subsequent surgery, Shanahan — now preparing to face the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2024 — told NBC Sports’ Peter King how the flirtation with a retired Brady, 46, stemmed from Purdy’s Week 1 availability.
“As we talked, I’m looking at Brock, and he’s got his arm in a sling, and I really am not sure I’ve got a quarterback who’s going to be ready for the start of the 2023 season. That started all of this,” Shanahan said in this week’s “Football Morning in America” column.
Purdy, the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2023 NFL Draft as the 262nd overall pick, had just guided the 49ers to an NFC Championship berth after starting for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo down the stretch.
Though Shanahan, 44, relayed to the 24-year-old quarterback that he’s the 49ers’ “guy long-term,” the idea was if California native Brady wanted to play one season for his hometown team, that would be the case where Purdy would be relegated to QB2.
“I actually thought it was giving Brock the biggest compliment,” Shanahan said. “I let him know he’s our guy long-term. No question. And if Tom Brady wanted to come here and start for one year, that’s the only way you’re not starting when you’re healthy this year. That’s pretty cool. I wanted to assure him, ‘Don’t worry. You’re our guy. But how cool would it be if Tom Brady would be the quarterback here for one season? How cool would it be for you to learn from him?’”
Spoiler alert: Purdy got the green light to start in the season opener, a dominant 30-7 win over the Steelers.
Had Purdy never suffered the injury, though, the Brady backup plan “wouldn’t have been a consideration at all,” according to Shanahan.
“I’d never have brought it up. But I’ve got to think about the team,” Shanahan said.
Purdy and the 49ers finished the regular season at 12-5 and later punched their ticket to Super Bowl 2024 with a comeback 34-31 victory over the Lions in the NFC Championship game on Jan. 28.
Leading up to the NFC title game, Purdy reflected on that conversation with Shanahan during an interview with ESPN.
“That meant so much to me,” Purdy said. “I remember him saying, if we can get Tom Brady, we’re going to try to get him. And I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s the GOAT. I get it.’ But something deep down inside me was sort of like, ‘Dude, I just showed you that I can play well in this system. And we were one game away from the Super Bowl.’ … More than anything, I was like, ‘OK, now let’s go.’”
Purdy and the 49ers will face the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
As for Brady, the former Buccaneers and Patriots quarterback called it a career last February after 23 seasons.
Though he seemingly joked about unretiring in May, the seven-time Super Bowl champ appears ready to embrace the next chapter of his career as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, which will begin this fall.
