Finally, someone asked if the 49ers were intrigued by Tom Brady for 2023.

Finally, someone asked if the 49ers were intrigued by Tom Brady for 2023.

Someone on ESPN.com said two weeks ago that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said that coach Kyle Shanahan told them in the offseason that the team wanted to sign Tom Brady to serve as the starter in 2023.

Since then, no one has asked regarding Purdy’s comments, even though he and Shanahan have had several press conferences.

Someone was finally asked about it. Brady was that person. Pat McAfee asked Brady about a report from Purdy that the 49ers wanted Brady while Brady was on a media tour on Tuesday to talk about the merger of TB12 and Nobull.

Brady didn’t say for sure that the 49ers planned to sign him. “Again, it was a great year for myself to sit back and watch or learn and get prepared to serve in the Fox booth next year.”

“In this last time of year, there’s plenty of different things people might have suggested, but I kind of just kept my thoughts focused on the direction I wanted to go,” said Brady.

Chris Simms said on PFT Live that Brady left a lot of options open last year about possibly coming back to the NFL within 2023. In the end, he chose not to play.

When Brady became a free agent three years ago after 20 years playing for the Patriots, the 49ers were his first choice. That’s when the 49ers said, “No thanks.”

Tom Brady was the starting quarterback for the Patriots when they picked up Jerod Mayo in the 2008 draft. In 2019, when Mayo became a coach for New England, Brady was still the team’s quarterback.

In a Tuesday interview with ESPN, Brady said that he still has a great opinion of Mayo, who was appointed Patriots coach of the year on January 12. Brady left the team in free agency following that season.

“I think [Mayo] was a great captain and a great friend. He had a lot of success in football and then in other areas of his life after golf.”

“I think it’s great for the NFL that he’s going to coach again,” Brady told Andrew Callahan according to the Boston Herald.

“I think Jerod is great at getting along with everyone in the locker room and with the coaches. I think he’ll do a great job.”

“This is great for the New England Patriots for sure. Things are very clear to him about how they should be done.

They probably won’t try for Brady again. (If they don’t.) Kirk Cousins, the quarterback, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.

Cousins and coach Kyle Shanahan have been linked for a long time. Six days before he tore his Achilles tendon, Cousins played against the 49ers on a Monday night and may have had the best victory of his career.

Most likely, the final choice will depend on whatever Purdy does when everything is at stake. He didn’t have a great game against the Packers on Saturday night, but the 49ers still won.

Is Shanahan going to lose his mind again if Purdy fails to play a great game regardless of the NFC Championship or, should they win, the Super Bowl (and they lose)?

Since he joined the 49ers in 2017, he’s been looking for heaven as a quarterback. He first waited for Cousins to sign with free to sign in 2018.

Because of this, Shanahan didn’t look at Mahomes when he was selected during the draft, even though the 49ers had the second top pick.

Shanahan finally stopped liking Jimmy G and put three first-round picks and a third-round pick into Trey Lance.

That failed miserably, and the only good thing about it is that getting Purdy gave the 49ers their last pick of the draft.

And while it looked like Purdy was the guy to beat for most of the 2023 season, we now know that Shanahan liked Brady better before the season even started. He might choose Cousins (or someone else) over Purdy for 2024.

Someone tried to get Shanahan to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo while they were trying to sign Cousins.

Purdy is under obligation for an additional two years, but his salary will be very low. Even his rookie deal can’t be changed after the 2024 season.

The final choice will depend on how well Purdy plays this coming weekend as well as if they make it, two weeks later if they do.

Shanahan still wanted Brady after Purdy took over for Garoppolo and led the 49ers into the NFC Championship. This shows that no one is above the rules in Santa Clara.

Shanahan wants to win the Super Bowl, so he won’t think twice about trying to get a better quarterback, even if it means things could go wrong.