It remains to be seen where Tom Brady will play in 2020, but NBCSports Boston reporter Tom Curran says there is mutual interest between Brady and the San Francisco 49ers.
Really? The Niners would get rid of Jimmy Garoppolo for a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback? Really?
Damon Amendolara has doubts.
“I don’t know if the Niners would,” Amendolara said on The DA Show. “You just heard [Patriots reporter] Tom Curran say this: ‘If the Niners had Tom Brady, they would have won the Super Bowl.’ Let’s flip that around: if the Niners had Bill Belichick, they would have won the Super Bowl. Forget the Jimmy Garoppolo part of things. That was also a Kyle Shanahan [blunder].”
The 49ers squandered a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV, as Garoppolo finished 20-of-31 for 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“So, okay, would Tom Brady have been better than Jimmy Garoppolo for those 60 minutes?” Amendolara asked. “Maybe. I don’t know. I saw Tom Brady in some big games last year, including the postseason game against the Titans, look like dog food. I’m sorry if I don’t necessarily believe just swapping him in for Jimmy Garoppolo for those 60 minutes would have changed the narrative. What would have? Bill Belichick with a 10-point lead in the Super Bowl. Belichick is not blowing a 10-point lead in the Super Bowl, no matter who his quarterback is.”
“Do I believe the Niners are an interesting destination for Brady?” Amendolara continued. “Yes. And do I believe that somebody in Brady’s camp leaked this to Tom Curran? Yes. Do I believe the Niners want Tom Brady? I’m not so certain. If you’re the San Francisco 49ers and you have reached a Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo at 28 years old, are you prepared now to sell your soul for a one- or two-year run with Tom Brady and then go back into ‘What the hell do we do at quarterback?’ [conundrum] when you have Garoppolo for a minimum fo five to six years? And you have made a Super Bowl.”
It seems that bears repeating. The Niners came within a couple of first downs of winning the Super Bowl. This isn’t a middle-of-the-pack team.
“Had the Niners been the No. 1 defense in football, had the No. 1 ground game, and been a 9-7 team or 10-6 and lost in the Wild Card, I suppose you could make the argument, ‘Look, we need to make that push right now. We’re built to win right now, and Garoppolo is a huge anchor,’” Amendolara said. “But if you’re the 1-seed in the NFC and have a 10-point lead in the Super Bowl, you’re not far away from doing exactly what you want to do with Garoppolo – and he’s 14 years younger than Tom Brady. It’s kind of a no-brainer to not push Garoppolo out the door, even if he had a bad Super Bowl.”