By all accounts, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted quarterback Mac Jones with the third overall pick in the 2021 draft. But he was talked into taking a raw quarterback inTrey Lance, and it goes without saying how badly that went.
The quarterback the Niners eventually ended up with, Brock Purdy, has gone from "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2022 draft to being in line for $50-plus million per-year contract. The franchise was extraordinarily fortunate to have the cheapest starting quarterback in the NFL the last couple seasons. Even his salary for 2025, the final year of his current contract, is lower than top backup money.
Now, the debate is on over how much the 49ers should pay Purdy. Some would say he's not worth anywhere near what the market says, dismissing him a a product of Shanahan's system. Some might say Jones is a threat to win the starting job, which may or may not be true. If Purdy gets a contract extension, which feels inevitable, the idea of Jones a a threat to unseat Purdy is moot.
Overall, the signing of Jones to a two-year deal lands interestingly based on Shanahan's known affinity for him. A few weeks ago, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had a theory about Jones' view of his place in San Francisco's quarterback pecking order.
"I've heard enough about Mac Jones over the years, and I've seen enough from Mac Jones," Florio said, on Pro Football Talk Live. "He is not going to show up and bow down to Brock Purdy. He's going to go in there with the mindset of, 'I can win this job. I was the 15th pick in the draft in the draft. This guy was the last guy taken."
Provocative.
"That's going to be Mac Jones' attitude. He's going to go in there, regardless of whether or not it works," Florio continued... "not with the idea that I support Brock Purdy. No, I'm trying to beat Brock Purdy out, and I want to give the 49ers something to think about."
Co-host Michael Holley, with his reporting roots in the Boston area, countered by suggesting Jones will "drive Kyle Shanahan crazy."
Mike Florio is all-in on his Mac Jones-Brock Purdy narrative
On Friday's edition of PFT Live, Florio and co-host Charean Williams went back-and-forth about the most intriguing backup quarterback situations in the league. The 49ers were one of Florio's choices, and he brought up his fairly recent conversation with Holley.
"I still believe Mac Jones is walking through the door with a chip on his shoulder, and with a plan to show everyone he's better than Brock Purdy," Florio said.
The 49ers can end all thoughts about Jones possibly being the starter over Purdy by getting the long-term deal done. After acknowledging the seeming inevitability they will "open the vault" for Purdy (and perhaps overpay him), and that's the obvious caveat to the whole idea Jones could win the starting job, Florio went back to his overriding thought about Jones.
"Mac Jones is not going in there to be Brock Purdy's caddy," Florio said. "He's going in there to show everyone that he can be better than Brock Purdy, and I just think that it creates an awkward dynamic, potentially."
It's one thing for Jones to come in with a competitive mindset and a desire to show he's better than Purdy, which is the root of Florio's thought process about the situation. But it's quite a leap to go from that to an awkward dynamic being created if Jones can't settle into his inevitable place on the depth chart.
It will take a complete 180 on Purdy from the 49ers to change anything on that front.
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