For the majority of the offseason, everyone believed that Brock Purdy’s health was the only thing keeping him from starting as quarterback for the 49ers. However, Kyle Shanahan warned Purdy specifically about one thing that would make his starting position uncertain: Tom Brady.
Shanahan spoke with Purdy earlier in the offseason, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, and told him he would start if his elbow injury from last year’s NFC title game healed. That is, assuming the 49ers could persuade Brady to rejoin his childhood team.
No, it appears like Shanahan told his inexperienced quarterback straight to his face that Brady remained a target. Purdy acknowledged this, but it still stoked his competitive spirit.
“It was really meaningful to me,” Purdy told ESPN. “I recall him telling me that we would try to get Tom Brady if we could. Yes, he’s the greatest of all time, I thought. I understand. However, I secretly felt like, “Dude, I just proved to you that I can function well in this system.” We were just one game away from the Super Bowl, so more than anything, I thought, “Okay, let’s get started.”
A thorough examination of Purdy reveals a quarterback who has always encountered hardship and skepticism, even from those closest to him. This can be shown in his request to play right tackle rather than quarterback when he was just 11 years old. It seems that even after his incredible rookie campaign that saw the 49ers win the NFC title game, his own head coach remained one of those skeptics. Of course, he still has them; some are either doubting his abilities or hoping for a late-game comeback from him.
But it’s absurd to think that Shanahan told his quarterback, who was signed to one of the lowest contracts in football, directly that he would rather have a 46-year-old Brady, who had just hobbled through an 8–9 season and an NFL playoff exit in the first round, and who had retired (again) before the Super Bowl.
