Three weeks ago tomorrow, ESPN.com buried in a Brock Purdy #longread a potential bombshell. Per Purdy, coach Kyle Shanahan said early in the offseason that they would try to sign Tom Brady to be the starter for 2023.
It created no buzz. It made it onto the rundown of none of the various ESPN studio shows. It was barely even noticed until a week later, when MDS spotted it and realized its significance — and the potential implications if Purdy had played poorly in either of the two NFC playoff games the 49ers came from behind to win.
Even after we put a spotlight on the previously ignored nugget, no one asked Shanahan or Purdy about it, despite multiple press conferences before and after playoff games. Last week, G.M. John Lynch addressed it; Shanahan and Purdy did not.
Shanahan finally has. In a ride-to-work interview with Peter King for his Football Morning in America column, King dared to utter the words that so many others had refused to say: Hey, were you serious about trying to sign Tom Brady to be the starter in 2023?
If some declined to go there in press conferences for fear of annoying the head coach of the team they cover, the inquiry had the opposite effect.
“I’m glad you asked me that question,” Shanahan told King.
Maybe Shanahan was being sarcastic. Or maybe he’s glad he wasn’t asked about it in the days preceding the playoff games against the Packers or the Lions, when it would have been harder to claim in a loud, clear voice that there won’t be a wandering eye in 2024. (Then again, if Purdy throws three or four interceptions in the Super Bowl, those questions will come.) Regardless, Shanahan was asked — and he answered.
“Yes, I was serious about it,” Shanahan said. “As we talked, I’m looking at Brock, and he’s got his arm in a sling, and I really am not sure I’ve got a quarterback who’s going to be ready for the start of the 2023 season. That started all of this.”
Shanahan did not say why the 49ers ended up not signing Brady, who…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kyle-shanahan-serious-trying-tom-144605372.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-02-05 14:46:05
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