The San Francisco 49ers decided to make a couple of changes to their quarterback room this offseason.
Last season, the 49ers’ QB room was about average as they had Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs, and rookie Tanner Mordecai. Purdy didn’t have his best season under center, but still completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Dobbs appeared in two games and started in the regular season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers saw Dobbs leave in free agency this offseason, leaving Mordecai as the backup to Purdy.
Mordecai was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. Last summer in the preseason, he completed 6-of-10 passes for 103 yards in two games.
Tanner Mordecai Already Getting Outplayed by Mac Jones in OTAs
San Francisco was not comfortable with that idea, so they made two additions to the QB room. They signed former first-round pick Mac Jones to a two-year deal and drafted Kurtis Rourke in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Jones is looking to get his career back on track after spending last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The former first-round pick had a promising start to his career with the New England Patriots, but things went south, leading to a trade last offseason.
Thus far through OTAs and minicamp, we see why the 49ers went after Jones to be the backup over the unproven Mordecai.
"We've only been on the field two days, but he's been great going through the meetings those first two weeks in Phase One, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said (h/t David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone), just going through all the cutups, talking about some of his stuff he's done over the last few years, just being able to coach him on that."
According to Grant Cohn of San Francisco 49ers on SI, Jones looked good in the 49ers’ first week of OTAs at the end of May. The new 49ers QB completed 7-of-8 passes in 7-on-7 drills, showcasing his arm strength and accuracy.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Mordecai hasn’t had the most impressive spring workout circuit. The second-year quarterback got hammered by Cohn, who was in attendance at the Niners’ second day of minicamp.
“He completed 1 of 4 passes a day after completing 0 of 4. He's just not a particularly good football player, but he supposedly is a scratch golfer. Maybe he's the next Happy Gilmore.”
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for a player who will be trying to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. That said, 49ers fans should look forward to seeing what Jones can do and if he can rebuild his value like Sam Darnold.
Meanwhile, Mordecai, who put up video game numbers in college, will try to show the coaches that he belongs, while Rourke continues to work his way back from a torn ACL that he played through in his last year of college football.