There is talk of quarterback controversy brewing in San Francisco between Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. This talk is overblown, but Hall of Fame quarterback Steve young things awkwardness between Jones and Purdy could be good.
The Niners legend appeared on KNBR earlier this weak and spoke about the benefits of what he dubbed "creative tension" between Jones and Purdy. Young knows better than anyone else what it is like to be embroiled in a quarterback controversy after what he experienced with Joe Montana during his playing days.
Here is what Young had to say about the potential benefits of awkwardness or tension between Jones and Purdy:
"It's the awkwardness that starts, right? It's just awkward. They'll try to minimize the awkwardness, but Mac's got a career to go chase...so in that way, there is what I'll call 'creative tension.' [Tension] can sometimes be the best thing in the world. It's awkward. It's hard. But you get the best out of everybody in the room."
Young went on to liken the current Niners quarterback situation to the situation he and Montana had. He has always maintained that he and Joe made each other better because they knew they had to be better than the other guy if they wanted to play. It is hard to argue with the results as the 49ers won multiple championships with both of those guys on the team, and then Young won a Super Bowl on his own after Montana departed.
What the Niners have right now is nowhere close to the tension and drama between Montana and Young, but the latter could be right that by adding a little bit of competition and intrigue into the mix it could make both guys better.
The 49ers are lucky to have two very mature quarterbacks in Jones and Purdy. Neither one would speak out of turn or feed into any sort of controversy, which is good because if they did, the situation could spiral out of control.
Jones has quieted any talk of a controversy, as has general manager John Lynch. Jones understands he was brought in to be the backup and he views that as his role. Still, Jones knows that he could be auditioning for other teams around the league potentially in need of a quarterback.
Jones looks likely to get the start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Purdy still recovering from his toe injury. If the former delivers another win for the Niners, talk of a controversy will grow which could lead to more tension.
But if Young is right, perhaps that tension and awkwardness will make Purdy better whenever he returns from injury.