All it can take to turn a season upside down for any NFL team is an injury to a key contributor. San Francisco 49ers fans know this as well as anyone after watching Brock Purdy's torn UCL effectively end any chances they had of winning the 2022 NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
With Purdy cashing in on a lucrative long-term deal this offseason, San Francisco's front office knew that they needed to bring in a more than adequate backup as an insurance policy in case something were to happen to Purdy over the 17-game regular season schedule.
It is still very early, but it appears that John Lynch and company did just that and more by bringing in former first-round pick Mac Jones on a two-year, $8.4 million deal. The former Alabama Crimson Tide signal-caller has impressed throughout camp this far and has a fan in head coach Kyle Shanahan.
49ers QB Mac Jones Outplaying $8 Million Investment with Stellar Camp
"Mac's doing a good job," Shanahan said, via David Bonilla of 49ersWebZone.com. "We've really liked what we've seen from him so far. We had an idea of what we hoped he'd be like, and he's been exactly that. He's been playing really well, and hopefully, he'll continue that."
Shanahan and the coaching staff have had more time working with Jones than the fans and media in attendance at training camp can see. This only adds more weight to the comments made by San Francisco's leader on the sidelines regarding his new QB2.
In the ideal scenario, the 49ers only need to call on Jones for mop-up duty as Purdy leads the offense back to the position it was in when San Francisco was firing on all cylinders. This team has playoff aspirations, and Purdy being under center gives the Niners the best chance of achieving those goals.
However, if for some unfortunate reason Purdy were sidelined for any period. Shanahan and the rest of the offense can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they have a steady hand to guide the ship until the team's QB1 can return to the huddle.
That in and of itself makes adding Jones to the fold on a two-year deal a steal for San Francisco, regardless of whether they ever need to call his number to run the show.