Tom Brady recently retired for the second offseason in a row. Can we believe him this time?
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the answer is no. Florio doesn’t believe that Brady is being disingenuous when he says he’s done, but that Brady’s proclivity to change his mind throws many grains of salt on his comments.
It’s because of that, and because of the recent news that Brock Purdy’s UCL surgery has been postponed, that Florio believes Brady signing with the 49ers is still on the table.
“…we’ve learned that Brady: (1) doesn’t always say publicly what he truly believes; and (2) sometimes says things he means, and eventually does something different,” Florio wrote on Thursday.
“The 49ers ultimately could have a major influence over the final outcome,” he continued. “Trey Lance missed nearly all of 2022 with a broken ankle. Brock Purdy‘s elbow apparently is more messed up than believed, given that he can’t even have surgery on it yet, due to the lingering swelling. There are real questions about the quarterback position for a team that is otherwise among the NFL’s elite.”
The 49ers had a chance to sign Brady after the 2019 season but chose to stick with Jimmy Garoppolo who had just quarterbacked San Francisco to a Super Bowl. Reports were that the 49ers were the interested party this offseason, but Brady announced his retirement shortly after the season ended.
“There’s always gonna be a part [of me] that wants to play and a part of me that, you know, feels like I can play,” Brady said on his “Let’s Go!” podcast shortly after announcing his retirement. “I think there’s just a decision to know that it’s the right time.
“I think for me it’s more of just, it’s gonna end at some point, and I think now’s the time. And it’s not that I can’t do it. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to do it. It’s not that I wouldn’t be excited to play. I love playing football. I’ve loved playing football since I was a kid on the street on Portola Drive. So I think it’s just a decision that it’s time to do other things.”
That doesn’t exactly sound like a door that’s been slammed shut. Combine that with the question marks regarding the health of both Purdy and Trey Lance, the fact that San Francisco has a Super Bowl ready team now and that Brady’s season ended in disappointment, Florio believes a Brady return to the West Coast remains very much on the table.
“Nothing can be ruled out at this point,” Florio concluded. “Especially if the 49ers become persistent in their efforts to bring Brady home. And if Brady realizes that, with Patrick Mahomes possibly ready to make a run at seven, it could be wise to try to get No. 8.”