“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 told Rich Eisen on Tuesday. “And then you hear rumors that hey, he’d like to come home, that kind of thing.”

Brady, who turns 43 this offseason, is a Bay Area-native, and was rumored by Patriots insider Tom E. Curran to be the target of discussions within the 49ers organization during his free-agency sweepstakes. That scenario would have required trading 28-year-old signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo, who has three years remaining on a five-year, $137.5 million contract.

“Of course Kyle [Shanahan] and I had discussions. We’re always into getting better, so you always look at everything, especially a situation like that,” Lynch said. “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.’”

Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers from New England back in 2016 for a second-round pick. He sat out most of the 2018 season after tearing his ACL in Week 3, but posted a strong comeback campaign last year, accruing 3,978 yards, 27 touchdowns and a 69.1 completion percentage.

The 49ers finished with a 13-3 regular-season record, but were ultimately bested by the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV after a fourth-quarter meltdown, for which Garoppolo has been heavily criticized. Questions about his long-term potential, combined with the Brady momentum, caused some factions of the football community to postulate that the 49ers might not be sold on Garoppolo after all.

“If you start chasing every rumor out there and making a statement on it, then you are doing that all the time,” Lynch said. “Yes, this was a bigger one, but the important thing was we had talked to Jimmy and told him exactly what I told you. … 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.”