Report: 49ers out on Tom Brady, will stick with Jimmy Garoppolo
After weeks of speculation, it appears the idea of Tom Brady joining the 49ers can be put to bed.
Chris Simms, a college teammate and long-time friend of Kyle Shanahan, reported Sunday that Brady will not be joining his hometown team, citing multiple sources throughout the NFL.
“The 49ers are out on Tom Brady,” Simms said, according to Pro Football Talk. “That is not going to happen.”
Brady, a San Mateo native who grew up an avid 49ers fan, remains the biggest name on the free agent market and will be 43 next season. San Francisco’s quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, will turn 29 next November and will remain at his post, according to Simms. He helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl in 2019 during his first full season as a starter following his ACL tear in 2018.
The noise surrounding Brady joining the 49ers sounds like it came from Brady’s camp. There was no indication San Francisco was interested in making a move at quarterback despite blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.
“My understanding, Tom Brady’s No. 1 choice was to go to San Francisco and be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers,” Simms said. “I don’t know what happened, but something happened in the last few days, to my understanding, to find out the 49ers are out on Tom Brady and they will be standing pat with Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback.”
General manager John Lynch and Shanahan both endorsed Garoppolo at last month’s scouting combine.
“We’re extremely proud of Jimmy and committed to Jimmy moving forward. He’s our guy,” Lynch said.
“He’s not come close to hitting his ceiling. ... I think the room for growth, the more experience he gets in this system, the more experience he gets playing in general, we think the arrow’s up, and that’s a good thing.”
Added Shanahan: “I thought there was much pressure on him at the beginning of the year as anyone I’ve been around. He just took it, handled it all year and got better throughout the year. I was very impressed with him.”
San Francisco isn’t the only team that can be crossed off the list of Brady’s potential suitors. The Tennessee Titans on Sunday inked looming free agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a four-year, $118 million contract, according to multiple reports.
The remaining options for Brady appear to be a return to the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Los Angeles Chargers.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
