For the second time in as many years as a professional, Brock Purdy is leading his San Francisco 49ers into the NFC Championship Game.
San Francisco will host the Detroit Lions on Sunday in an attempt to earn the franchise’s eighth Super Bowl appearance.
But it almost didn’t turn out this way. Purdy spoke with ESPN’s Nick Wagoner recently, dropping a bombshell in the process.
“Early in the offseason, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan sat down with Purdy and assured him that if he was healthy he would be the starter unless Brady wanted to play one more season for his hometown Niners,” report on the 49ers attempting to sign Tom Brady.
At that point in the offseason, Purdy was recovering from an elbow injury he suffered early in San Francisco’s NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady had just announced his retirement. But there was no telling whether he’d come out of retirement to play for the team he grew up rooting for.
“I remember him saying, if we can get Tom Brady, we’re going to try to get him. And I was like, ‘Yeah, he’s the GOAT. I get it.’ But something deep down inside me was sort of like, ‘Dude, I just showed you that I can play well in this system. And we were one game away from the Super Bowl.’ More than anything, I was like, ‘OK, now let’s go.'”
San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy on conversation with Kyle Shanahan
Brady had been linked to San Francisco after he decided to move on from the New England Patriots following the 2019 season. Things did not work out on that front as Jimmy Garoppolo had just led San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance.
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The last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Purdy’s ascension to stardom is by now well-known. He was the NFL MVP favorite for a majority of the 2023 season before a four-interception performance against the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
Purdy would respond by leading San Francisco to a fourth quarter comeback against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, setting the stage for Sunday’s outing with Detroit.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible if Brady did not pass up on the 49ers during the 2023 offseason. Imagine how the dynamics of the NFL would have changed.