NFL Pro Bowl QB Says Team Wanted to Replace Him With Tom Brady in 2023

Tom Brady came close to being the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback over Brock Purdy.

By Brian Jones

One of the top NFL quarterbacks of the 2023 season came close to not playing this year because of Tom Brady. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy spoke to Nick Wagoner of ESPN last week and revealed that the team was going to replace him with Brady if he wanted to come out of retirement. During the offseason, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told Purdy that he was going to be QB 1 unless Brady wanted to play one more season for his hometown team.

"That meant so much to me," Purdy said. "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.'"

Brady announced his retirement in February 2023 and did not return to the field during the 2023 season. The 49ers made the right call by sticking with Purdy as the team is getting ready to take on the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. In the regular season, Purdy completed 69.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns with a 113.0 passer rating. His production led to him being named to his first Pro Bowl, and he led the 49ers to their second consecutive NFC West title. Purdy joined the 49ers last year after being selected as the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He played in nine games and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship, a game he had to exit early due to an injury.

"It's a little different, just last year I was still trying to find my way in a sense," Purdy said before the start of this season's playoffs, per the 49ers' official website. "I got thrown in at the end of the year, so every single week I was still trying to play well, learn who I was as a quarterback and get more familiar with playing within the system. Those are all things that were on my plate last year, and then trying to win every single week and get this team to the end."

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