Tom Brady to 49ers in 2023? Brock Purdy might want a word

Even though Tom Brady came and went, the chatter about him joining the 49ers as a free agent in 2023 hasn’t gone away, but Brock Purdy is here now to influence the discussion.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady probably wishes his return to Northern California to square off against his boyhood San Francisco 49ers team went a little better than it did last Sunday.

As in, the Niners walloped Brady and the Bucs 35-7 in a game where the greatest quarterback of all time tossed two interceptions and was completely outdone by the final pick of this year’s NFL Draft, rookie Brock Purdy.

Of course, talk leading up to the game centered around Brady and what the 45-year-old GOAT’s future holds beyond this year. Tampa Bay’s offense has been abysmal for much of the season, yet there is still chatter that Brady wants to return for another year, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported just before the quarterback squared off against San Francisco last Sunday.

Except Brady will be a free agent. Would the 49ers want him? Would Brady want to end his career with his boyhood team?

Possibly. That conversation hasn’t gone away at all over the years.

However, Purdy being in the mix changes all that and so much more.

49ers have a quarterback controversy without Tom Brady already

Niners fans know this already, but Purdy replaced an injured Jimmy Garoppolo under center in Week 13, and Garoppolo replaced an injured Trey Lance way back in Week 2.

Garoppolo, like Brady, is a free agent in 2023. Yet Garoppolo won’t entertain a return to San Francisco if he has to face a situation similar to what he endured prior to Week 1 where the 49ers were trying to trade him only to not be able to, then naming him the backup to Lance.

Despite that, there’s already conversation about Garoppolo returning to the Niners as a starter next year even if it meant delaying Lance’s deployment as QB1 for yet another season.

What about Purdy, though?

Granted, all of this is getting way ahead of itself. But there is room for Purdy to perform well down the stretch, perhaps helping engineer San Francisco deep into the postseason.

If that happens, then what? Is Garoppolo truly the excess commodity? Or will that fall upon Lance, who has somewhat gone forgotten since his Week 2 ankle injury?

It’s a conversation former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman can hardly fathom, stating such on his recent podcast:

Alright, so Purdy and the Niners have a long way to go before a Super Bowl controversy. Yet the controversy is already there.

And Brady doesn’t even have to be involved with it yet to make it a spicy one.

Read More: Will Tom Brady return to Buccaneers in 2023?

However, if Brady was to lobby San Francisco to sign him for one last go, the 49ers brass would have to sign off on it knowing that Lance’s deployment would be delayed yet again, Garoppolo wouldn’t return and Purdy would go back to a status of relative irrelevancy.

Now, with Purdy the unforeseen star around the NFL, it’s almost impossible to imagine that happening.

And if Purdy helps carry the Niners deep into the postseason, there’d be no way Brady would find his way onto his boyhood team.