49ers could easily end the Tom Brady chatter

[T-Rac]

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Last week, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and G.M. John Lynch said all the right things about quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. But much has changed since last week, thanks to a Tom Brady brushfire that initially was ignited by Deion Sanders. Now that speculation has become rumor has become reporting has resulted in multiple 49ers players setting up a potential schism, the 49ers have an easy way to end all of it.

The 49ers can come out right now and say they don’t want Tom Brady.

Tampering violations only arise when a team expresses interest regarding a player who is under contract with another team. Nothing prevents the 49ers from issuing a statement acknowledging the chatter, dismissing it, and explaining that Garoppolo is their guy.

They haven’t, and until they do (or until Brady signs a contract with the Patriots or another team) the speculation will continue.

Consider the recent comments from Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston regarding two important reasons for not dismissing the situation: “First, Brady would love to play there. Second, as much as Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan likes Garoppolo, I’ve been told by multiple sources that he’s got some reservations about Garoppolo’s ceiling and overall decision making.”

Of al the potential factors that Brady may consider, “I would love to play there” would seem to be a fairly significant item on the “pros” list. And if, as Curran reports, Shanahan has “some reservations about Garoppolo’s ceiling and overall decision making,” it’s not crazy to think that Shanahan is thinking about whether would be an upgrade.

Again, if the 49ers want to extinguish this one, it’s easy to do. Until they do, it’s fair to wonder what’s really happening behind the scenes.