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After leaving the New England Patriots in February 2020, Tom Brady's top destination wasn't the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It isn't all surprising, after all. Brady's desire to join the San Francisco 49ers from New England is well-documented in 2021.
ESPN's Seth Wickersham also stated in his book 'It's Better To Be Feared' that the NFL star hoped to end his career in San Francisco. Born and raised in northern California, Brady grew up idolizing the 49ers and Hall of Famer quarterback Joe Montana. He was at Candlestick Park to witness Dwight Clark's catch in the 1981 NFC title game, one of the most iconic plays in the history of the league, and for Joe Montana's final game with 49ers in December 1992.
Tom Brady still roots for the San Fracisco 49ers
In the latest episode of Let's Go! podcast with hosts Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald, Brady revealed that he still supports the 49ers. He said:
"You know when I see the Niners play today, there's still a part of me that, always roots for them just a little bit."
A few years ago, Brady actually posted a picture of himself on Instagram as a 4-year-old at 'The Catch' game.
Meanwhile, Wickersham wrote that Brady pushed for a move to San Francisco during the NFL star's free agency tour. To add fuel to the rumors, there was a lot of chatter around Brady's future and a possible San Francisco landing spot, but things didn't pan out the way everyone expected.
The 49ers faced a major conundrum over the blockbuster move. According to Wickersham's book, the 49ers coaching staff didn't see Brady as an upgrade over their No.1 quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. It is worth noting that Jimmy G had led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the prior season, while Brady had one of the worst seasons of his career.
Coach Kyle Shanahan briefly spoke about 49ers' interest in Brady. He told The Athletic:
"All of a sudden, you hear arguably the greatest quarterback of all time is all of a sudden available, and there is a possibility that he could want to come to your team, and things like that."
Shanahan added:
Once we realized and heard this could be realistic -- this isn't just talk -- we looked into it all, especially with the respect we have for Tom and everything, and how great of a player he is. We looked into it to try to see if it would be better for our team this year and in the future. When we weighed it all together, we didn't think it would. We felt great with where we were at, and kind of confirmed how we are with Jimmy."
Maybe the 49ers were concerned about Brady's age. Maybe they prematurely anticipated his decline. It turned out to be the wrong move. Brady had the last laugh as he led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in 2020, while the 49ers were bogged down with injury issues.
