There’s this idea that the San Francisco 49ers should hold on to Mac Jones for another year for multiple reasons. One is in case of an injury to starter Brock Purdy. The Niners benefited tremendously from having a quality backup in 2025.
Jones played about as well as any backup in recent memory, especially given the circumstances. With that said, we’ve also seen this story play out several times in the NFL, where the backup gets extra run and shows the world why he wasn’t a starter to begin with.
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We are a week removed from a report saying the 49ers have no intentions of trading Jones. We will believe it when we see it, as Jones’ market will never be higher than it is now. There are also numerous holes throughout the roster that the 49ers could use one of the draft picks they’d receive in a Jones trade to address.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell went through 13 trade scenarios he could see happening this offseason, and one involved the 49ers sending Mac Jones to the Vikings:
Vikings get: QB Mac Jones, 2027 third-round pick
49ers get: 2026 second-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick (conditional), 2028 third-round pick (conditional)Jones is due just $4.7 million in 2026, which will be the final year of his contract. And of course, we know that the Vikings have been willing to take a swing on quarterbacks who have gone through the Kyle Shanahan rejuvenation cycle before, having signed Sam Darnold after the now-Super Bowl champion’s only year in San Francisco.
In this deal, the 49ers get a second-rounder for a future third-rounder. There are also two conditional picks, which should help protect them if Jones blossoms in Minnesota. The 2027 conditional pick would trigger based on Jones’ playing time with the Vikings. If he starts four games in 2026, the Vikings send a fifth-round pick out west. If Jones starts 12 games, that gets upped to a third-rounder. And then, if Jones re-signs with the Vikings after the 2026 season and starts at least one game for the Vikings in 2027, the 49ers would land another third-round pick.
If Jones spends just 2025 backing up McCarthy, the 49ers swap only the Day 2 picks. If Jones emerges as the long-term starter in Minnesota, though, the Vikings could send a second-rounder and two third-round picks to the 49ers — a price that Kevin O’Connell would surely be happy to pay for an upgrade at quarterback.
If the 49ers’ front office looks at this from an expectations perspective, they didn’t sign Jones to play in 2025. Now that the season ended, and knowing there’s an opportunity for you to flip a free agent player you signed to a cheap deal in exchange for a second-round pick this year, and a couple of picks in the future, makes it a no-brainer.
The pushback I’d have is to make the picks in 2027, as that is considered one of the better drafts in some time. Regardless, three picks for a backup would be a massive win. The 49ers could find a starter with that second-round pick this year. The Vikings have the 49th overall pick. That would give the Niners ammo to move up, use it on a starter, or trade the pick to acquire a player.
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