The San Francisco 49ers are in a unique position heading into yet another offseason where the demand for starting-caliber quarterbacks will exceed the supply.
And the Niners are fortunate enough to have two rostered: Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.
Recent reports from ESPN's Adam Schefter suggest general manager John Lynch isn't interested in moving Jones this offseason despite a plethora of roster needs elsewhere, and if San Francisco opts to move the No. 2 signal-caller, it likely won't come cheap.
But, the fact Lynch and Co. are even in this position likely stems from a lesson they learned from the latest Super Bowl champion, the Seattle Seahawks' Sam Darnold.
The 49ers may be able to take full advantage of that lesson.
Sam Darnold taught 49ers not to sign backup QBs to 1-year deals
Darnold's lone year with the Niners, 2023, helped spark head coach Kyle Shanahan's reputation of salvaging underachieving quarterbacks' careers. Despite seeing limited action behind Purdy that year, Darnold subsequently enjoyed plenty of success in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings after signing there as a free agent, then went on to play a pivotal role in the Hawks' championship season.
Seattle's hurler hasn't shied away from singling out his time in the Bay Area as being pivotal either.
When San Francisco inked Jones an offseason ago, it did so on a two-year deal. Following Purdy's turf-toe injury, Jones performed admirably, going 5-3 as a starter while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. It's safe to say the 2021 first-round draftee has resurrected his career, just as Darnold did.
Yet the difference is that two-year contract instead of one.
As our friends over at Arrowhead Addict noticed, a reclamation-project QB on a two-year deal is far more valuable than a one-year flier. And if the quarterback displays a Darnold- or Jones-like canny for turning a career around, he suddenly becomes a sought-after commodity.
And that's where the 49ers can take advantage, should they ultimatley trade Jones off to the highest bidder.
The Niners didn't pursue that path with Darnold, of course. But his subsequent success helped prove backup quarterbacks can drastically improve their value under Shanahan.
They applied that lesson to Jones.