George Kittle on Rumors of Tom Brady to 49ers: 'Nothing That I Took Seriously'

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle apparently never gave much thought to the possibility of arguably the greatest quarterback of all time joining his team.

The All-Pro discussed the offseason chatter with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that Tom Brady would join the reigning NFC champions and said he never took it "seriously":

"It is what it is. People talk. There's nothing else to talk about. It's nothing that I took seriously. Jimmy G is my quarterback, and he's one hell of a quarterback. We don't get to the Super Bowl without him. So there's no one that I'd replace him with. What he's done for this team leadership-wise and on the field, he's one-of-a kind. There's no one else I'd rather be around to throw me the ball. You know, I'm just excited being able to play football again with Jimmy G and I know that he's ready to fling that rock again."

Brady going to the 49ers could have reunited him with Jimmy Garoppolo, his former New England Patriots teammate. The latter was Brady's backup for the first three years of his career and went 2-0 as a starter during the 2016 campaign when No. 12 was suspended. He won two Super Bowl rings before being traded to San Francisco in 2017.

While there is no doubting Brady's status as the clear-cut better option than Garoppolo when it comes to comparing career resumes, he is 42 years old and coming off an exit in the Wild Card Round. Garoppolo, 28, led the 49ers to the Super Bowl last season, although they fell short in the showdown with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason and will team up with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in the NFC South.

Perhaps there will be a playoff showdown between the two former Patriots this season.