Why the 49ers Wouldn't Be Crazy to Move Jimmy Garoppolo and Go All in for Tom Brady

San Francisco 49ers fans had seen the script before: two minutes left, needing a touchdown to win a championship.

The dapper Jimmy Garoppolo was right out of central casting, and perfectly set up to play the role of Joe Montana 2.0. But when the final page of the Super Bowl LIV script was written, it was revealed that Garoppolo was merely a handsome impersonator.

Luckily for San Francisco, the true heir to Joe Montana is set to become a free agent this offseason. Tom Brady, at 42 years of age, was there to see the script himself as a child. It's famously known that Brady, a 49ers fan as a young man, had front-row seats to see Montana deliver San Francisco its first Super Bowl berth in the 1981 NFC Championship game. He even saw "The Catch" up close.

Jimmy G got to see Brady replicate the script himself from even closer in each of the two Super Bowls he won as the Patriots' backup. The difference is that he couldn't follow the example of Brady the way Brady followed the example of Montana.

In doing so, Garoppolo failed to uphold the gold standard of quarterbacking set by Montana decades ago. It's not an easy thing to do, of course. Steve Young could only manage one ring himself as the full-time starter. But if Garoppolo can't win a title with a double-digit lead, what good is he in San Francisco in the big picture?

What good is a 28-year-old short-passing specialist that can't complete a game-winning drive for a chance to win a ring? In Minnesota, Carolina, Miami or a handful of other NFL markets, Garoppolo's star would shine perfectly bright if he delivered the season the 49ers just had, but fans in San Francisco are different. The bar is set high.

So why not aim as high as it gets and target the GOAT this offseason as he hits free agency?

The 49ers have an elite roster. Their championship window is open, and in the NFL, windows close faster than they open. San Francisco fans have learned that all too well in the past three decades. How long can they expect to keep the league's best defense together? How long can they expect to keep a staff of the league's best assistants together?

The Niners' window to rekindle old greatness is open. The script can be finished, but it's going to take a crazy plot twist: reconnecting Tom Brady with his west coast roots and writing the final page in his Hall of Fame script.

Send Jimmy Garoppolo to a market that will love him for his game management, good looks and many years ahead. Heck, he's from Illinois and the Bears need a quarterback. Send him home and reconnect him to his roots.

A blockbuster signing of Tom Brady would not only make true the dreams of Brady and thousands of his fellow 49ers fans, but it would all-but ensure that if San Francisco needs a touchdown in the final two minutes of Super Bowl LV or LVI, it's a task that won't lie on the shoulders of a handsome impersonator.

It's a signing 38 years in the making. And it's actually possible.