49ers GM John Lynch Responds To Tom Brady Signing
San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch responded to the idea of signing Tom Brady this past week.
Over the past few weeks, ever since the Niners’ collapse in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, rumors have run rampant about the team’s quarterback situation.
The looming unrestricted free agency of a six-time Super Bowl champ in Brady did not help matters.
Some suggested that San Francisco would be wise to sign Brady, who is a Bay Area native, and trade away Jimmy Garoppolo to whoever would have him – maybe even back to the New England Patriots.
On Wednesday, at the NFL Scouting Combine, Lynch made it clear that nothing like that was in the cards.
“We’re extremely proud of Jimmy and committed to Jimmy moving forward,” he said. “He’s our guy.”
Above all else, Lynch believes the best still lays ahead for Garoppolo.
“From the day he walked into our building, he made us better and we continue to feel that’s the case, and that’s the most exciting thing about him, is the room for growth,” Lynch said.
“He has not come close to hitting the ceiling. I think the room for growth, the more experience he gets in this system, the more experience he gets playing, in general, we think the arrow’s up, and that’s a good thing.”
All in all, it is easy to see why San Francisco feels good about Garoppolo as the team’s starter for the foreseeable future. In his first fully healthy year at the helm of the offense, the 28-year-old led his team to the Super Bowl.
Sure, the running game probably had as much to do with that as the passing game – but Garoppolo was still very solid.
For the year, Garoppolo recorded 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns. While those may not be Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes-style astronomical figures, they are more than enough given what the Niners need from him.
Beyond his on-field production, it was just a relief for all involved that Garoppolo stayed healthy all season.
On the heels of a 2018 campaign that saw him tear his ACL, many wondered if perhaps Garoppolo was just injury prone. He dispelled those rumors in 2019.
The questions surrounding Brady are understandable. He is a future Hall of Famer with ties to the Bay Area that has the potential to lead any team he joins to the Super Bowl. That said, there is simply no feasible scenario where San Francisco mortgages its future for two years of a clearly-declining 42-year-old.
One way or another it will be Garoppolo, and not Brady, as San Francisco’s starter come 2020. Whether that will result in a championship run or not remains to be seen.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
