Lynch, Shanahan discussed going after Tom Brady

In myriad ways, this offseason has belonged to Tom Brady.

On Tuesday, Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement and was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to reunite with Brady and further the Bucs' title aspirations. It was the latest development for an offseason filled with Brady frenzy as his time with the Patriots ended and speculation of where he would play next took over the NFL news cycle.

While the Buccaneers and Chargers were the teams seen as the most likely final destinations for Brady, there were some rumblings that the future Hall of Famer might well look to join the 49ers. After all, Brady grew up in the Bay Area rooting for the Niners.

San Francisco general manager John Lynch admitted that he and coach Kyle Shanahan did in fact discuss the possibility, but it never went much further than musings as the reigning NFC champs do have Jimmy Garappolo (Brady's former understudy on the Patriots).

"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," Lynch said on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, per ESPN. "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 always 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."

So there it is. Amid smoke, there was at least the fire of discussion, but eventually the realization that Jimmy G is indeed the guy for the Niners going forward was solidified. Lynch added that Garoppolo was in the know after he captained San Francisco to an NFC West title and a Super Bowl berth.

Often lamented despite what was an ultra-successful season for the team and him statistically, Garoppolo (3,978 yards passing, 27 touchdowns) is set on improvement and that's one of the chief attributes in Lynch's support of him.

"We think there's places in his game where he can improve and the great thing is Jimmy embraces those, and we're gonna try to get the best out of him," Lynch said. "And we think he's already been tremendous, so I would leave it with that. We're as convicted as ever about him being our quarterback and leading this organization into the future."

Brady's in Tampa with an emerging contender, while Garoppolo is still the guy for one of the league's best. But at least for a minute, Lynch and Shanahan danced with the idea of bringing in TB12.