The not-so-great quarterback class of 2021 still has a couple of guys who can turn it around. Justin Fields has become the clear QB1 with the Jets, for example.
Also, the 49ers seem to be comfortable with the prospect of Mac Jones playing, if necessary.
Jones is now the backup to Brock Purdy in San Francisco, and the 49ers are comfortable with the prospect of Jones playing, if necessary.
“Going back to college, we obviously studied Mac coming out and we thought very highly of him and his skillset as a thrower and the things he did in college,” Kubiak said Friday, via Grant Cohn of SI.com.
“And then obviously as a rookie, what he did in the NFL was very impressive. Mac’s a really good thrower. He stands in the pocket, he’s a strong guy and he’s really smart. And so he’s got a lot of traits that we like for a starting quarterback. And his career has kind of gone up and down a little bit the past couple years, but we saw the same things in Jacksonville that we loved about him as a college prospect, and that really excites us. And he’s doing a great job. And I think Mac’s capable of being a starter in this league. And so he’s going to help us if he needs to.”
Jones made it to the Pro Bowl in 2021. (As a replacement, but still.) His career went off the rails in 2022, when Patriots coach Bill Belichick deemed it prudent to entrust the offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
Traded to the Jaguars in 2024, Jones started seven games in place of Trevor Lawrence. Jones’s numbers weren’t great; he had eight touchdown passes, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 80.5 in 10 total 2024 appearances. Still, it was enough for the 49ers to make Jones the top understudy to Purdy.
Although it seems likely that the 49ers will sign Purdy to a long-term deal, Jones gives them the kind of insurance every team needs. And if Jones gets to play, perhaps he’ll do enough to earn his way back to a starting job as of 2026, with a new team.
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