Brock Purdy is the clear franchise quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, but there was a time when the front office was thinking about someone else to lead the offense.
Purdy suffered a UCL tear during the 2023 NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, leading to some doubt that he would be ready for the 2023 regular season because he needed rehab.
The 49ers loved what they saw from "Mr. Irrelevant" in his rookie season after taking over for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, but they made calls elsewhere to bring in a certain veteran to see if he was interested in joining head coach Kyle Shanahan.
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Tom Brady, having committed to retirement after losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was called to see if he had any interest in staying in the NFL another season. It never happened.
Purdy, making an appearance on Audacy’s "The TK Show," said he "understood" why the 49ers would give Brady a call.
"How I took it was I understand," he said when the radio hosts asked what he was thinking when he found out the team called Brady. "I was hurt (injured), and there wasn't really a certainty as to when exactly I'd be back. Would I be back for the season? Would it be midway through the season? Who knows at that time? So, I totally understood the fact of Kyle and the team needed a quarterback for next season."
49ERS WERE ‘SERIOUS’ ABOUT PURSUING TOM BRADY FOLLOWING BROCK PURDY INJURY, COACH SAYS
Looking for a quarterback is one thing. Trying to tap arguably the greatest of all time? Different story for a rookie who just got his feet wet in the NFL.
But Purdy was confident that he proved he can lead the 49ers in Shanahan’s offense.
"When he said Tom Brady, I'm like, 'All right, that's cool for your sake as a head coach and for a team to bring in the best of all time,’" Purdy explained. "A little bit of me was like, 'All right, well, I'd just proven that I beat this guy this past year and that I'm good enough to take our team to, at the time, it was the NFC Championship [Game].'
Purdy blew out Brady and the Bucs, 35-7, in Week 14 in the midst of an impressive win streak for the Niners while he was starting.
"So, there was a little bit to me where I was like, 'I can obviously be the guy for this organization, so why not?' But given the circumstances of me being hurt and having some certainty at quarterback, I understand why he was willing to have that as a thought. So, I get it," Purdy continued.
Purdy added that there was "an honest conversation" had about the Brady inquisition, saying that the talk was had before getting surgery. The Iowa State product didn’t need a full UCL repair as the internal brace method was used, and his recovery was faster, allowing him to be ready by training camp last year.
There were doubters as Purdy began the 2023 season as the 49ers’ starting quarterback once again, but he’d eventually lead his squad to the Super Bowl, where they would fall to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.
Entering his third season, if there are any doubters, they are slim to none because Purdy clearly proved he can get the job done with the tremendous cast of offensive weapons surrounding him in the Bay Area.
It would have been fun to see what Brady could accomplish with them in San Fran, but Purdy has locked down the position moving forward.
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