After accomplishing his individual objective with the San Francisco 49ers in the 2025 season, quarterback Mac Jones is hoping for an opportunity to be a No. 1 quarterback in the NFL again.

“I think this year was just awesome for me to be around these guys and the coaches, players, everybody,” Jones said on Monday. “It was just so fun to get, as I say, the train back on the tracks, and that’s what I wanted to do. So put a lot of good film out there. In a way, I had two seasons in one. I had a season as a starter kind of and a season as a backup, so it was really good for me. Had a lot of fun and excited for what’s next.

“And I don’t know. I’m on a two-year deal. But I do believe I’m a starter in this league, and I’m excited to continue to get better this offseason and see what happens.”

After leading Alabama to the CFP national championship with an undefeated 2020 season, Jones became an immediate starter in the NFL with the New England Patriots. He went to the playoffs and the Pro Bowl as a rookie and started the first 42 games he played in the NFL.

Benched with six games remaining in the 2023 season, Jones left New England in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 10, 2024. He started seven games for the Jaguars because of injuries to Trevor Lawrence.

A year later, Jones signed with the 49ers and started eight games for San Francisco because of Brock Purdy’s toe injury.

“As a backup sometimes you don’t know when your time’s going to be,” Jones said. “So really excited for that opportunity that I had, and I feel like there wasn’t a lot of drop-off and the guys had a lot of fun when we’re out there, and that’s something of a standard that Brock set since he’s been here. And for me to learn from him and Kyle and (quarterbacks coach) Mick (Lombardi) and (offensive coordinator) Klay Kubiak, I mean, the list goes on. So really just got a Ph.D. in football this year, and I want to keep getting better. And I feel like it’s just been a fun year.”

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Jones started the second, third and fifth through 10th games for the 49ers in 2025. In his eight starts, Jones completed 201-of-289 passes for 2,151 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. His average of 268.9 passing yards per game ranked second and his passing-efficiency rating of 97.4 ranked 13th among the NFL quarterbacks with at least eight starts in 2025. They also were better than the numbers from any of his seasons as a full-time starter.

“It’s been a big challenge for me,” Jones said. “Just had a couple rough years or whatever and just getting it back on track, and I feel like I just got to show my personality and be around the guys like George Kittle, you know, guys I’ve always watched and wanted to play next to and Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams and Fred (Warner) and it was just so like — it was dreamlike, honestly, and it was just a lot of fun to learn from those guys. And the system that they run here, the offensive system, the defensive system, learning about that — even special teams. Like, I learned so much from Kyle. I’m excited to just keep growing and really just keep learning. …

“When I came in, to be honest, I played pretty well as a rookie and had flashes the next couple years and was in different circumstances, and I worked on a lot of things that I felt like I could get better at, and I feel like this year kind of showed a little bit. So just all the work I’ve been putting in and really just believing in myself, and some of that has to do with the guys in here. Like, I feel like they helped me get my swag back. And at the end of the day, it’s up to you to keep your swag, right?

“To have, like, Trent and everybody just backing me every day from OTAs when I first got here. I feel like people had their — not opinions about me, but maybe some people didn’t know me or hadn’t played with me before, and I just showed who I am. And I think they enjoyed playing with me, and I enjoyed playing with them, so that’s all you can ask. And the end of the day, you want to win every one you can. But we had a lot of fun doing it, and I feel like got the train back on tracks.”

In 2023, quarterback Sam Darnold came to the 49ers with 55 NFL starts. He made one start in relief of Purdy, then signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent after the season. Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 regular-season record and, after another move in free agency, did the same thing with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025.

Darnold and the Seahawks beat San Francisco 41-6 on Saturday night in a Divisional Weekend game and play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

With a season left on his contract, Jones can’t leave as Darnold did, so if he’s back with the 49ers in 2026, Jones said “that would be fine.”

“I think for me the challenge is keep getting better this offseason,” Jones said. “Whatever happens happens, and love the guys here.”