Now that he’s no longer playing basketball, Tom Brady may be returning to his childhood 49ers fandom. And Brock Purdy.
Did you know that former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was once a San Francisco 49ers fan?
Did you know Brady actually attended “The Catch” game between the Niners and Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship Game?
Unless you’re very new to football, you’ve probably been hearing these facts about Brady for quite some time. Besides the fact that he’s the greatest quarterback of all time (yes, it’s time for San Francisco fans to pass that title from Joe Montana to Brady), the GOAT knows a thing or two about how Neglected.
This is no different than how many fans, scouts, general managers and teams overlooked current 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy.
Ironically, Purdy beat out Brady and the Buccaneers as a pro in late 2022, which was supposed to be the latter’s return to the Bay Area.
Except Purdy and the Niners ruined that.
But the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft hasn’t stopped thinking about the eventual pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, “Mr. Irrelevant.”
Brady could easily make the case that the NFL Draft is a massive craps game. A top-10 pick might turn into a bust, while a sixth- or seventh-round pick might turn into a superstar.
How many teams have ignored Brady multiple times? Ignoring Purdy’s is also the number.
talking about his let’s go! During the podcast, Brady had plenty of praise for Purdy, via Athlon Sports, and didn’t hesitate to mention how a performance that far exceeded expectations worked in the latter’s favor:
“You don’t hear about guys like Brock Purdy until he does amazing things on the field, so it’s a fun story and I hope he continues that because he Seems like a very humble young man who wants to go out and do great things. I think the more you feel like he has pressure and doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s nice to go out and continue to prove people wrong. “
You can listen to the full podcast below:
Purdy’s Niners are off to a 5-0 start and lead the NFL in many passing categories and statistics.
While he may not be the current front-runner for the league’s MVP, if he continues to play the way he is now, there’s no way to take him out of the conversation when 2023 is over.
Related stories: Brock Purdy’s odds of winning MVP on 49ers’ winning streak are very good
Of course, Brady is probably keeping a close eye on his former teams, the Patriots and Buccaneers. Why wouldn’t he?
But assuming he’s still rooted in the Bay Area, one would have to assume he’d be interested in San Francisco, right?
certainly. He indeed is.
Brady also heaped praise on the 49ers’ 5-0 start and made some comparisons to the dominant teams he played for in New England and even Tampa Bay:
“(The 49ers) did a great job, I played with (Purdy) last year and they had a great team. I’ve been on a lot of great teams over the years and what did we do? We controlled The line of scrimmage, we ran the ball well, we stopped the run and they rushed the passer. They were leading the way and I give coach (Kyle) Shanahan a lot of credit as well because he did a great job. “
Perhaps the only regret is that Shanahan and the Niners didn’t ask Brady to finish his career in the Bay Area, which could have been his dream job.
At least Brady can support Purdy and San Francisco from afar, though.