What if the 49ers had traded Jimmy Garoppolo back to the Patriots?

Fairy tales rarely come true.

What if the 49ers had traded Jimmy Garoppolo back to the Patriots a couple months ago?

Let’s explore this hypothetical.

Tom Brady left the Patriots, so New England needed a quarterback. They had the 23rd pick in the draft this year, but they traded it to the Chargers for a second- and a third-round pick. The Patriots did not draft a QB.

Is it possible the Patriots initially offered that first-rounder to the 49ers for Garoppolo?

Sure, it’s possible.

The Patriots drafted Garoppolo. He fits their system and they’re desperate because Brady simply walked away from them. And Brady reportedly wanted to sign with the 49ers -- they were his first choice. But he would have been more expensive than Garoppolo.

Is it possible the 49ers kept Garoppolo because Brady wanted more money?

Sure, it’s possible.

Garoppolo will cost the 49ers $26.6 million of their cap space if he’s on the team next season. Had the 49ers traded him, they would have saved $22.4 million in cap space.

Brady eventually signed with the Buccaneers for two years and $50 million, or an average of $25 million per season. The Buccaneers play in Florida, which has no state income tax. California’s state-tax rate for people who earn more than $1 million per year is 13.3 percent. So the 49ers would have had to give Brady $28.3 million per season to match Tampa’s offer.

Meaning the difference between Brady and Garoppolo would have been just $5.9 million per season for the 49ers.

Not much.

The 49ers easily could have created $5.9 million in cap space. They’ve already traded Marquise Goodwin and Matt Breida. They also could have traded Kendrick Bourne and Ahkello Witherspoon, and released Tevin Coleman and Mark Nzeocha.

Hypothetically, the 49ers could have signed Brady and traded Garoppolo for the Patriots’ first-round pick -- no. 23. Meaning the 49ers could have had three first-rounders -- 13, 23 and 31. Then, they could have traded picks 13, 31 and a fifth-rounder to the Panthers for a pick no. 7 and a second-rounder. And with pick no. 7, the 49ers could have taken Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who might be as good as DeForest Buckner. With the 23rd pick, the 49ers still could have taken Brandon Aiyuk, whom they ended up taking with the 25th pick.

After all that, the 49ers could have traded a mid-round pick for Rob Gronkowski. He recently came out of retirement to play with Brady on the Bucs.

To recap, the 49ers hypothetically could have had Brady, Gronkowski and Brown. Instead, the 49ers kept Garoppolo and drafted Javon Kinlaw.

Imagine a 49ers offense with Brady, Gronkowski, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Raheem Mostert and Deebo Samuel all on the field together. Would have been the team of the century and the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl next season.

Would have been fun.

Fairy tales rarely come true.