The 49ers may have changed the direction of their franchise last season when they acquired Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots, but they tried to really make a splash.
Niners general manager John Lynch said there was a discussion with the Patriots, when calling about Garoppolo, about whether or not Tom Brady was available.
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"We were calling about Jimmy and we did have that conversation and got quickly rebuffed," Lynch said, via USA Today. "I figured what the heck, you gotta take your shot, right? You can’t score if you don’t shoot.
"I had to summon up the courage and Bill (Belichick) laughed at me and basically hung up on me. But hey, I took my shot."
San Francisco ultimately fell in love with Garoppolo, a much younger player than Brady, and awarded him a five-year, $137.5 million contract in February after he won all five of his starts with the 49ers last season.