49ers' Kyle Shanahan expands on Tom Brady, Brock Purdy story

It's now no secret that head coach Kyle Shanahan was interested in bringing legendary quarterback Tom Brady to the San Francisco 49ers after Brock Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow while playing in the January 2023 NFC Championship Game.

Shanahan once again addressed that topic during the latest edition of "The TK Show" podcast hosted by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

"At the end of the season, when Brock, who we knew was going to be our future, but when he got hurt and no one could guarantee that he was going to be healthy in Week 1, that he'd for sure come back the right way, there was a lot of speculation in it, and no one could guarantee it, I did want to reach out to Tom," Shanahan explained, per David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone.

Shanahan suggested during the interview he never would have had an interest in Brady if it was known at that time Purdy would be good to go for Week 1 of the 2023 season. While Purdy had made only eight meaningful pro starts (playoffs included) before his injury, Shanahan felt the final pick of the 2022 draft played well enough to sit atop the depth chart if healthy.

"The only way that won't happen is if Tom Brady comes for one year," Shanahan continued. "And so I kind of looked at it as I was giving [Purdy] the keys. I was telling him how much and saying, 'There's this one outside chance, but I'm going to be dead honest with you. ... That's the only thing in the back of my head, and probably, there's not a very high percentage that's going to happen.'"

Brady retired from playing "for good" in February 2023 and then spent portions of last season preparing to become Fox's lead in-game NFL analyst. Meanwhile, Purdy was cleared for contact by Week 1 of the campaign, and he ultimately guided the 49ers to within a defensive stop of defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.

"...Tom was done, so it made it real easy," Shanahan added about being all-in on Purdy last year. "And once Tom told us that, just started counting the days to when Brock could get healthy. ... Brock did heal up, and he came out and tore it up in training camp, tore it up in Week 1 and had a hell of a year."

Purdy undeniably impressed en route to becoming a regular-season Most Valuable Player Award finalist, but some may always wonder what could have been for the 49ers had Brady entered last September as the club's QB1.