National Football League

Kyle Shanahan confirms 49ers reached out to Tom Brady in 2023 offseason

Published Feb. 5, 2024 2:26 p.m. ET

Kyle Shanahan wasn't kidding when he told Brock Purdy that the team was considering signing Tom Brady in the 2023 offseason.

In fact, the 49ers head coach was "serious" about a possible pursuit for the seven-time Super Bowl winner due to Purdy's elbow injury, per NBC Sports.

"As we talked, I'm looking at Brock, and he's got his arm in a sling and I really am not sure [that] I've got a quarterback who's going to be ready for the start of the 2023 season," Shanahan said. "That started all of this."

Purdy suffered a UCL tear in his throwing elbow in the first quarter of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game loss to Philadelphia in January 2023, requiring him to undergo major offseason surgery. The surgery also sidelined Purdy from throwing for several months during the offseason.

Even though Purdy returned to practice by the start of training camp, there were major questions surrounding the Niners' quarterback situation when their 2022 season ended. Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo missed most of the final month of the regular season and playoffs that year due to a foot injury as he was also entering free agency. Trey Lance, who began the 2022 season as the team's starter, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 that required him to undergo a second surgery in December 2022.

Brock Purdy or Patrick Mahomes: Who's under more pressure to win a Super Bowl?

Shanahan said that he wanted to assure Purdy that Brady — who announced his retirement from football for a second time in February 2023 — would only start for one season while he healed from the elbow injury.

"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?'

"I mean, if Brock never got hurt, this wouldn't have been a consideration at all. I'd never have brought it up. But I've got to think about the team. What if he's not ready in September?"

Just like the 49ers did to Brady when he was a free agent in 2020, Brady told them that he was interested in coming out of retirement to play for his hometown team for one more season.

In the end, things worked out for the Niners. They signed Sam Darnold to be their primary backup quarterback and traded Lance away in August, but they haven't had to worry about their backup quarterback in a big spot this season. Purdy has started every game outside the 49ers' regular-season finale, in which they rested several starters.

Purdy is also a major reason why the 49ers are playing in Super Bowl LVIII. He threw for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns to go with a league-leading 113 passer rating in the regular season before leading them to two postseason comeback wins.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers' inspirational road to the Super Bowl

But there were major questions surrounding Purdy's viability to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl prior to winning the NFC title game, in part, because of his draft status. The 49ers selected him with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Shanahan told NBC Sports he actually had a fourth-round grade on him and was adamant that the team should draft him even though he had a feeling it'd upset other people on the staff.

"Then it gets closer [to our draft pick]," Shanahan recalled of what the draft room was like before the 49ers drafted Purdy. "I'm also getting the feeling we're not getting Purdy as a free agent because there are so many other teams who are going to try to sign him. He wasn't coming to us. He's told me since then he was signing somewhere else. I said in the room, ‘Let's not risk it. This guy's too good.'

"John [Lynch] and I, we took Purdy — and thank God we did."

Purdy has already made plenty of history as a Mr. Irrelevant, and he'll look to make even more against Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII.