San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones is content to stay where he is.
After struggling in his early career, Jones made waves as a backup with both the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024 and then the Niners in 2025. His performance and previous experience as a starter would be well worth it to a team in need of a quarterback. While Jones said he has had those discussions with 49ers brass, he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” Tuesday that he enjoys being with the team, even as a backup.
“I think this is my number one question that I’ve been asked,” Jones told guest host Andrew Siciliano about the prospect of a trade.
“And look, I love [general manager] John [Lynch]. I love [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], the York family. It’s the best organization—I feel like—that I’ve played for, in terms of just top-to-bottom greatness, so far, and I don’t like leaving good people,” Jones said.
“And I hope they enjoy having me there, and I’m excited for this year, to be honest, and a lot of that was offseason talk, and anything’s possible, right? I mean, the trade deadline’s not until a little bit through the season, but I try not to keep up with it, and I really just want to keep getting better.”
Siciliano doubled down on the line of questioning, asking whether he had at least been in contact with Lynch and the rest of the front office about the possibility of being moved.
“Look, they’re all business guys, and I think that’s behind-the-scenes stuff that’s handled between agents and at the combine and all sorts of things that happen,” he said. “So, I’ve been in the loop on everything. The communication is clear, and that’s all I care about, to be honest.”
Jones started eight games in relief of starter Brock Purdy last season. He went 5-3 as a starter, completing 201 of 289 passes for 2,151 yards and 13 touchdowns against six interceptions. Jones’s impressive performance earned plaudits from around the NFL world and helped elevate the 49ers to a Wild Card spot despite a depth chart decimated by injuries all season.
“I did play decent last year,” he said. “I think I can play a lot better, which is what I’m striving to do this summer ... improve on my technique and see if that helps me and elevates me to get a big deal or something in the future. But I always say, ‘be where your feet are,’ and my feet are in San Francisco, and I like it a lot.”
Jones had a hot start, going 10-7 in his rookie year, passing for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie that year. But his play declined sharply after that: he did not pass for 3,000 yards in either 2022 or 2023 and was benched at the end of the 2023 season.
Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024. He appeared in 10 games and had seven starts for the Jags in relief of starter Trevor Lawrence. He went 2-5 in his time there, throwing for 1,672 yards and eight TDs with eight picks.
Even in the midst of his hot streak last season, Jones was adamant that he was content with being a backup.
“They brought me here to play as a backup, and that’s my job,” he told reporters in October. “Brock’s the starter of this team, and right now he’s dealing with something, and for him to go out there last week and play when he probably wasn’t at full health, like, he cares about this team. So I’m just trying to get some wins for him so it helps us down the line.
“I’ve been in his position. I’ve been a starter, and you want your backup to go in there and win ‘cause at the end of the season, that could be the hit or miss between a playoff or not.”
