Could Buccaneers trade Tom Brady to 49ers for Jimmy Garoppolo?

Eyes were raised Friday when it was learned that quarterback Tom Brady was still on the active roster of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into the weekend even though he announced his retirement earlier last week, and Brady admitted during Monday's edition of his "Let's Go!" podcast with broadcaster and friend Jim Gray that he would "never say never" at this time about a possible return to the NFL. 

While the Buccaneers admittedly need to "reload" their roster and will likely lose multiple noteworthy players to free agency this offseason, stories from last month linked Brady with a potential move to the San Francisco 49ers, his favorite childhood NFL franchise and a team that recently played in the NFC Championship Game. 

Last week, bettors had the Buccaneers among the favorites to land current 49ers signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo whenever they trade him so 2021 rookie Trey Lance can shift to the top of San Francisco's depth chart, and Patriots radio broadcaster Scott Zolak poured some gasoline over that fire during Tuesday's edition of the "Zolak & Bertrand" show on 98.5 The Sports Hub. 

"I just think that (joining the 49ers) is what Brady’s focused on," Zolak explained, per Dakota Randall of NESN. "He’s been focused on it for two years, and they’ve gotta deal Jimmy, and (Brady) knows that (Trey) Lance isn’t ready and he knows that team is built to win now. That’s attractive to him. Name another one that’s attractive where it’s plug-and-play.

" … You trade Jimmy Garoppolo to Tampa Bay for the rights to Tom Brady, and then let him decide when he’s ready to go, you become an instant contender in the West."