Tom Brady retires: 3 teams that wish he stuck around for one more year
By Kristen Wong
2. San Francisco 49ers
If Christian McCaffrey has to fill in for a few snaps under center in a high-stakes playoff game, you might be a team that needs a new quarterback.
Admittedly, the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback room was cursed this season with the likes of Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Brock Purdy all suffering serious injuries.
Whereas a team like the Panthers can boast their potential to make a deep playoff run, the 49ers actually did it in 2022. After trading for CMC, San Francisco went on a red-hot 12-0 streak to get to the NFC Championship game. Against an equally talented Philadelphia Eagles team, the 49ers nonetheless had a fighting chance to upset the Birds until…. Purdy went down in the first quarter.
Despite the tough loss, the 49ers have an angsty offseason ahead of them complete with overlapping injury timelines and looming question marks at the quarterback position. Lance, Purdy, and Garoppolo could all still play in the red and gold in some capacity but a fishing line for Brady could have gotten a win-now team like the 49ers a ring in 2023.
Brady could have more than matched what Purdy and Garoppolo accomplished this season (he threw 4,694 passing yards against those two guys’ 3,811 yards combined). He could fit in well in Shanahan’s offensive scheme, where he could distribute the ball to numerous playmakers and play a clean game. And most of all, he could have thrived alongside Christian McCaffrey, who elevated San Francisco’s run game and added a truly unstoppable dimension to the offense.
In fact, Brady to San Fran for one final hurrah in his hometown is what executives around the NFL thought was going to happen.
But alas, that is all “what could have been.”