49ers reportedly out on the Tom Brady sweepstakes

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly out on the Tom Brady sweepstakes as the team is expected to stick with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback.

San Francisco 49ers fans can all breathe a sigh of relief. Not because of the latest report that the team is officially out on the Tom Brady sweepstakes — that much was never too much in question.

But rather because we could all finally put an end to the widespread rumors that have been running rampant around the NFL. Jimmy Garoppolo is the 49ers’ quarterback. That much seems certain now.

And in reality, it should have been certain from the beginning.

Former NFL quarterback and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms reported on Sunday that the 49ers were no longer in contention for Brady and that the future Hall of Famer’s decision has come down to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.

This shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise to many 49ers fans who doubted the reported interest in the first place. But it does provide some clarity and put to bed any rumors that Garoppolo wasn’t the guy.

In all honesty, the rumors never made much sense, to begin with.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Why would the 49ers move on from a rising quarterback — who admittedly has flaws — in favor of a short-term fix who arguably wouldn’t be as significant of an upgrade as many have made him out to be?

Yes, he’s Tom Brady. But this isn’t the same Tom Brady who cemented himself as likely the best to ever do it. He’s still great, but moving on from Garoppolo never made a ton of sense.

After all, what happens when Brady ultimately retires in a couple of seasons? Had the 49ers really soured that much on Garoppolo that they had already given up on him as their signal-caller of the present and future?

The answer is probably not.

Garoppolo has been the 49ers’ guy from the start and even if there was interest from John Lynch and company about bringing Brady back to the Bay Area, it was never realistic that anything would materialize.

Now, the 49ers could shift their attention to their internal free agents who are set to hit the open market. Players like Arik Armstead, Jimmie Ward, and Emmanuel Sanders will all be looking for new deals, but it will be near impossible to retain all of them.

But at least the quarterback situation seems resolved — not that it wasn’t already. Only now, the rumors will finally subside.