John Lynch: 'Of Course' 49ers Debated Pursuing Tom Brady in Free Agency

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed that the reigning NFC champions considered going after Tom Brady this offseason.  

Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Lynch acknowledged the 49ers had internal discussions about going after the six-time Super Bowl champion:

"When you're talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time with Tom Brady, of course you're going to have some internal discussion. And then you hear rumors that hey, he'd like to come home, that kind of thing.

"So of course Kyle and I have discussions. ... We're always into getting better, so you look at everything, especially a situation like that. But within a day or two, Kyle and I looked at each other and said, 'You know what, we really like what we have in Jimmy.' We love everything that he brings and we really believe it's a long-term answer. I would tell you we're more [convinced] than ever about who our quarterback is in Jimmy Garoppolo."

ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported on March 22, after Brady had already agreed to a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that the 43-year-old "made it clear through various channels" that he would like to play for San Francisco. 

Wickersham noted the 49ers "discussed it" before deciding they were going to move forward with Jimmy Garoppolo. 

Brady grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as a 49ers fan, writing on Instagram after Dwight Clark died in 2018 that he was in attendance at "The Catch" game and that Joe Montana was his "hero."

Since being acquired from the New England Patriots in 2017, Garoppolo has been terrific as San Francisco's starter with a 19-5 starting record. He set career-highs with 3,978 yards, 27 touchdowns and a 69.1 completion percentage last season to help the 49ers win the NFC West for the first time since 2012.