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Tom Brady announced his retirement last week, but the media isn’t allowing him to close the door on his career just yet.
On February 7, Scott Zolak, a sports talk radio host in Boston, suggested Brady is “focused” on playing for the San Francisco 49ers.
Zolak, a former New England Patriots quarterback, suggested Brady would be traded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the 49ers for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Brady, 44, grew up in nearby San Mateo and rooted for the 49ers while growing up. On February 1, Garoppolo told reporters in a Zoom call that he expects to be traded.
In this scenario, the 49ers would have the rights to Brady, while the veteran quarterback could take his time in deciding if — and when — he’ll return.
On the February 7 episode of “Zolak & Bertrand” on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub:
“I just think that [joining the 49ers] is what Brady’s focused on,” Zolak said. “He’s been focused on it for two years, and they’ve gotta deal Jimmy, and [Brady] knows that [49ers backup quarterback Trey] Lance isn’t ready and he knows that team is built to win now. That’s attractive to him. Name another one that’s attractive where it’s plug-and-play.
“You trade Jimmy Garoppolo to Tampa Bay for the rights to Tom Brady, and then let him decide when he’s ready to go, you become an instant contender in the West.”
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Is a Brady-for-Garoppolo Swap Possible?
The 49ers and Garoppolo appear to be moving in separate directions, and the Buccaneers have already been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Garoppolo, 30.
Brady is still on Tampa Bay’s active roster, meaning he hasn’t been placed on the Bucs’ reserve/retired list, because, according to CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin, the Bucs would take a “$32 million dead cap hit — and almost $11.8 million in lost salary cap space.”
Brady appeared to hold resentment toward his hometown team for passing over him in the 2000 NFL draft and then found even more reason to be angry when the 49ers decided to pass on him during his free agency tour in 2020.
Zolak’s trade scenario appears to be a possible, but unlikely, scenario.
Brady on Possible Return: ‘Never Say Never’
Adding another wrinkle to the possible Brady-to-49ers trade idea is the fact that the Brady acknowledged there’s a possibility he could come out of retirement.
“You know, I’m just gonna take things as they come,” Brady said on the February 8 episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast . “I think that’s the best way to put it. … You know, you never say never. At the same time, I know that I’m very, I feel very good about my decision. I don’t know how I’ll feel six months from now, [inaudible] change, it most likely won’t. But I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week. And, again, I think it’s not looking to reverse course, I’m definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life. Again, I loved playing. I’m looking forward to doing things other than playing.”
During the 2021 season, Brady led the league in passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
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