In a parallel universe, Tom Brady would be wearing the San Francisco 49ers colors and attempting to win his eighth Vince Lombardi Trophy next Sunday.
The Niners tried to convince the legendary pivot to postpone his retirement for another season and join them for the 2023 season. However, the 46-year-old athlete rejected the proposal.
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It was current 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy who revealed this story in an interview with the ESPN network. After the injury he suffered in the conference finals last year, head coach Kyle Shanahan told him he would be behind center in 2023 if Brady didn't want to play for them.
The club's pilot from San Francisco confirmed the information to NBC Sports.
“I actually thought that was the biggest compliment for Brock,” Shanahan said. I let him know that he was definitely our man in the long run. If Tom Brady wanted to come here and play for a year, that would have been the only option [que Brock] wouldn’t be our starter if he was healthy.”
“If Brock had never been injured, it wouldn’t have been a consideration at all. I would never have spoken about it, but I have to think about the team,” the head coach added.
Purdy was selected with the last pick of the 2022 draft and was forced into action in Week 13 of that year due to injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. He then won eight straight games until the Philadelphia Eagles ended his fairytale in the conference finals.
Purdy — not Brady — will try to lead the 49ers to major honors against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.