The San Francisco 49ers are among the teams that prioritize the No. 2 quarterback spot, despite having an entrenched starter in Brock Purdy. Last year, the 49ers had Joshua Dobbs as the backup behind Purdy, and the previous year, they rolled with Sam Darnold.
Thankfully, the 49ers didn’t have to play Dobbs or Darnold often, as Purdy has been a steady force at quarterback. With that in mind, everybody wondered what San Francisco would do at the QB2 spot with Dobbs heading to the New England Patriots in free agency.
The 49ers decided to take a flier on a former first-round pick like they did a couple of years ago with Darnold, and signed Mac Jones to a two-year, $8.4 million contract.
49ers QB Mac Jones Could Become the Next Sam Darnold or Carson Wentz
For Jones, who spent last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has a great opportunity in front of him to really change the narrative about himself and boost his value.
The former first-round pick played okay in his rookie season with the New England Patriots. He completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, as the Patriots won 10 games and went to the playoffs.
However, it slowly went downhill for Jones and the Pats over the next two years. His completion percentage dropped noticeably, and he became a turnover machine, tossing 23 interceptions. After things completely bottomed out in New England, the Patriots sent him packing to the Jags, where he got a chance to be the backup behind Trevor Lawrence.
Jones actually started in seven games in Jacksonville, thanks to Lawrence being banged up. He wasn’t overly spectacular in those starts, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 1,409 yards, six touchdowns, and eight interceptions. However, it was enough for Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ brass to take a chance on Jones, who can set himself up to be the next Sam Darnold if he performs well.
After leaving San Fran, Darnold got a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, became the starter due to an injury, and exceeded everybody’s expectations, leading to a three-year deal this offseason to be the starter with the Seattle Seahawks.
The game plan is laid out for Jones; he just has to execute it, which will start in training camp and continue in preseason. The NFL preseason is the perfect proving ground for him, and if he can capitalize on his fresh start, teams will likely have him on their radar heading into next offseason.
If he doesn’t play well and is making the same mistakes that we’ve seen him make over the years, Jones could be relegated to becoming a career backup. Now, that isn’t the worst job in the NFL, as you can make your money.
Or worse, Jones could become Carson Wentz, who has bounced around the league over the last couple of years. Wentz was the backup to Patrick Mahomes last year, and looked terrible in his lone start last season, and is still sitting in free agency.
Therefore, if Jones doesn’t want to go down that same path, it will be imperative for him to be the best QB on the field every chance he gets this summer.