Buccaneers Were Not Tom Brady’s First Choice: Report

Getty Tom Brady almost was not the QB of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tom Brady is resurrecting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise with his play this season, but his first preference was to play for the San Francisco 49ers, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. During an October 15th interview on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, Breer broke down Brady’s thought process during free agency.

“I can tell you that the Brady thing in the spring was sort of interesting,” Breer explained. “You know, the way it worked was basically Brady got word to them [49ers] that I would be willing to go here and if you guys are interested, you’re going to be at the top of my list. So, that sort of caused John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, everybody in that organization to take a deep breath and say, ‘Okay, we need to consider this.’ So, a handful of guys went and broke down Brady’s tape over like a two or a three-day period, and they all came back with the conclusion Brady can still really play. This would be a really good option.”

After Brady Showed an Interest in the Niners, the Team Looked at Jimmy Garoppolo’s Tape

The process did not stop there as the 49ers also explored Jimmy Garoppolo’s film. Ultimately, the Niners opted to pass on pursuing Brady in favor of sticking with Garoppolo.

“Then, what they did was they turned around and said, ‘Okay, now let’s go look at Jimmy’s tape,'” Breer continued. “For them, it reaffirmed a lot of the things that they thought about Jimmy, and so that was great for Jimmy that he kind of got that reaffirmation that I’m the guy again. But Ryen, the thing for me is, if you were willing to open up that question, that tells me that maybe you’re a little closer to looking at Jimmy Garoppolo like, say, Vegas looks at Derek Carr than you are how Kansas City looks at Pat Mahomes.”

Shanahan Admitted the 49ers Had to ‘Seriously Discuss’ Signing Brady

Breer’s report matches up with what 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said over the offseason. During an interview on The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on The TK Show, Shanahan admitted that the Niners “had to seriously discuss” the idea of signing Brady.

“We had to seriously discuss it to decide whether to go forward to where it could come close or not,” Shanahan explained, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “So it didn’t come close, but that’s why John and I had to put the time into it. If you would have asked us that right after the Super Bowl — I mean, Tom Brady, everyone knows what Tom Brady is, and how unbelievable he’s been. But if you had asked us that right after the Super Bowl, that’s kind of unheard of. It’s a pipe dream. Like, you don’t really think about that.”

With the way the Niners have played the last two games, San Francisco still has a chance to turn their season around. The big question is what the 49ers will do this offseason at quarterback given the majority of Garoppolo’s guaranteed money can end after 2020.

“If they wind up, say, 5-11 or 6-10 with all the injuries this year, and if Jimmy [Garoppolo] shows that he can’t raise the team around him above the circumstances they’re in, then I think they’re right back where they were in March when the [Tom] Brady thing came up,” Breer noted. “Which is we’re happy with who we have, but we’re willing to look at the landscape out there. And if there is a better answer for us, say that’s Matt Ryan, then that’s something we’re really going to consider.”

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