Latest Brock Purdy news could push 49ers in a familiar direction
In search for a quarterback, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch may turn to an option he’s been coveting for some time now.
Brock Purdy's off-season surgery, set for Wednesday in Dallas, may force the San Francisco 49ers into a not-so-familiar, familiar situation.
During the 2022 NFL season, the 49ers' quarterback room was complicated. Trey Lance started the year as the starter. He then went down with a season-ending injury. And then Jimmy Garoppolo did the same. Finally, Purdy stepped in and played well until he got injured in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, as general manager John Lynch looks to build on one of the league's most talented rosters, the most important position remains in question. Purdy could miss all of 2023. And the 49ers still don't know what they have in Lance. Lynch indicated that he is likely to let Garoppolo hit free agency. Meaning, Lynch again, is enamored by the idea of bringing in Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
“I sent him a text when he retired,” Lynch said on Tuesday at the NFL combine. “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 that I’ve ever seen in any sport. And I wished him the best, so we’ll leave it at that.”
Where there is smoke, there is fire. According to Bally Sports’ Michael Silver, the 49ers are a legitimate threat to lure Brady out of retirement.
“If Purdy’s procedure to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament ends up knocking him out for most or all of the 2023 season,” Silver writes, “I’d expect the Niners to place a call to Tom Brady to see if there’s any chance they could convince him to end his retirement and play a final season with his hometown team.”
The odds of Brady un-retiring again feel slim to none. But, with as talented as the 49ers roster is, and the promise of competing for a Super Bowl, maybe it remains an outside possibility that Lynch is able to bring the hometown kid home.
With a quarterback as consistently competitive as Brady, the Super Bowl window for the 49ers may slam wide open. But before getting too ahead of themselves, Lynch has to make an offer that Brady can't refuse.
Feature image via Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports.
