Rapoport: 'I've had no one tell me' Tom Brady wants to play for 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

NFL insider: 'I've had no one tell me' Tom Brady wants to play for 49ers

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/7/22

Quarterback Tom Brady is possibly keeping the door at least slightly open to ending what would be a short-lived retirement so he can return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 NFL season or attempt to force a move to a different club, specifically the San Francisco 49ers he cheered on during his younger days well before he became a seven-time Super Bowl champion.

Rich Eisen of NFL Network and SiriusXM raised eyes on Monday when he said Brady is still following his "TB12 Method" and that the 44-year-old is essentially living as if he's in a typical offseason rather than at the start of a new life chapter. Eisen asked NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Monday afternoon about the rumors repeated by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio on multiple occasions that Brady may want to finish his career with the 49ers:

Why does @TomBrady keep doing the thing where he leaves the comeback door open?@RapSheet on how we should be hearing TB12’s comments:#NFL #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/EtKFVTiL1R
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 7, 2022

(Comments start at around 3:10)

"I've seen all the rumors and the kind of reporting on Brady wanting to be in San Francisco," Rapoport explained. "I've seen Mike Florio has had some of that. I have not personally corroborated any of that.

"Now, maybe my sources are not as good. I just, I've had no one tell me that he actually wants to play for San Fran."

Earlier in the segment, Rapoport admitted he does not know if Brady wants to play one more season but added it is "at least possible" (1:35 into the video).

Interestingly, Rapoport also said future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald still hasn't officially retired even though the 38-year-old didn't play this past season and seemed to offer a farewell to the game in February. Brady and Fitzgerald are close and share their "Let's Go!" SiriusXM podcast, but Fitzgerald hasn't yet given any indication he would play for a team other than the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent 17 consecutive seasons before the 2021 campaign.

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