Kyle Shanahan could have San Francisco 49ers future on trading up for a quarterback in 2021.
The Niners gave three first-round picks and a third-rounder to the Miami Dolphins to go from 12th to third in the NFL Draft and select divisive North Dakota product Trey Lance.
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Jones put in a brace display on his Niners debutCredit: Getty
Lance will go down as one of the biggest busts of all time thanks to the capital involved in landing him, but Shanahan was saved by Mr Irrelevant Brock Purdy completing a sensational rise from the final name called to $265 million starter.
Mac Jones — the fourth quarterback selected after Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Lance — went to the New England Patriots 15th overall, but failed to live up to his billing as Tom Brady‘s replacement.
He joined the Niners on a $7 million deal over the offseason and masterminded a win over the New Orleans Saints after deputizing for the injured Purdy.
NFL Insider Dan Graziano thinks the 27-year-old has the ideal opportunity to rebuild his career under a man who has been a long-time fan.
“Remember, Sam Darnold did a year as a backup in San Francisco before he went to Minnesota and had that big year last season,” he told talkSPORT’S Brian T. Smith. “Like that is a significant part of his career resurgence.
“So, Mac Jones, when, when the 49ers made the big trade up in the draft that year in 2021, to get to No. 3, there were a lot of people that thought it was going to be for Mac Jones.
“It turned out it was for Trey Lance, but we knew that Kyle Shanahan had a high opinion of Mac Jones. He just felt like Lance offered more upside. So Jones ends up going to the Patriots, and there were some personality issues, and conflicts and all that that it didn’t work out there.”
Nobody wants their starting quarterback to go down, but Shanahan played a masterstroke in landing Jones, who threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns against the Saints.
Purdy hinted that he could be a gametime decision for Sunday’s Week 3 clash with the Arizona Cardinals.
“[We’ve] just got to see come game time how I feel,” Purdy said, via ESPN. “I want to play every game. I want to be out there. You only get 17 regular-season games, and every game matters, especially a divisional [game] going against the Cardinals.
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Jones found his feet in Jacksonville after falling out of favor in New EnglandCredit: Getty
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Lance is looking for a resurgence of his own as the Los Angeles Chargers No. 2Credit: Getty
“If you ask me, I’d love to, but I’m trying to be smart with my body here. You never know. We’ll see when the game comes.”
In another world, Purdy’s potential replacement could have been the man who took over from Jimmy Garoppolo in 2021.
Graziano thinks Jones is capable of stepping up again — and potentially earning himself a trade down the line.
“He had a nice little cup of coffee with Jacksonville last year when Trevor Lawrence got hurt, played some good football down there, and then Kyle gets hold of him,” he added.
“Ideally, when you sign Mac Jones to the 49ers, he never sees the field because Brock Purdy should play every game. But you feel like, here’s somebody that we believe has some ability, and if we kind of can sand down some edges and bring out the stuff that he’s good at, then maybe there’s something here. Maybe he’s a value, maybe somebody would trade for him down the line.
“But the upside is if Purdy gets hurt, which, which happened, you have a guy that you’ve been working with, that you believe in his talent. And he can go in and win games for you.”
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The Niners treatment room is usually a busy place and this season has been no exception with Purdy, Nick Bosa, Juan Jennings, Kyle Juszczyk, Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams among the key pieces on the injury report this week.
Despite the troubles, they are 2-0, and Graziano thinks if the roster gets back to full strength, San Francisco will be a force to be reckoned with.
“We saw that on Sunday. I don’t know the actual stats, but it feels like they’ve had more injury issues the first couple of weeks of this season than any other team, and they’re 2-0,” explained the ESPN analyst.
“So if they start to get healthier at some point, that bodes very well for them.
“And of course, knowing that Mac Jones can go in and play like he did on Sunday is a huge benefit to any team.”
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