Mac Jones didn’t just find his rhythm again in 2025 - he found his fire. After a turbulent few seasons, the former Alabama standout landed in San Francisco and reminded everyone why he was once a Pro Bowl quarterback and a College Football Playoff national champion. Filling in for an injured Brock Purdy, Jones stepped into the spotlight and delivered when the 49ers needed stability most.
Jones called it getting his “swag back,” getting “the train back on the tracks,” and even joked that he earned a “Ph.D. in football.” And while that may sound like a player finding confidence, the numbers back it up - and so do the results.
Thrust into action early in the season due to Purdy’s toe injury, Jones started eight games for the Niners in 2025, including Weeks 2, 3, and 5 through 10. In that stretch, he completed 201 of 289 passes for 2,151 yards, tossing 13 touchdowns against six interceptions.
That’s an average of 268.9 yards per game - second-best among quarterbacks with at least eight starts last season - and a passer rating of 97.4, good for 13th in that same group. Simply put, it was the most efficient and productive stretch of his NFL career.
Those numbers didn’t just help San Francisco win five games with Jones under center - they also caught the attention of front offices across the league. With one year remaining on his contract, Jones could be a valuable trade chip this offseason. But if you ask head coach Kyle Shanahan, he’s not eager to see Jones go anywhere.
“You always listen to people with trade offers,” Shanahan said. “But we’re also not into getting rid of good players, so I’d be very surprised if Mac wasn’t around us next year.”
That sentiment was echoed by 49ers general manager John Lynch, who praised Jones not just for his play, but for the energy and leadership he brought to the locker room.
“Mac made this place better,” Lynch said. “He was outstanding this season.
He picked us up in a huge way, and it was a really fun process to watch him come in and the joy that he was playing with. He’s got an infectious attitude that affects everybody on our team.”
Lynch also pointed to the impact Jones had within the quarterback room - including on Purdy himself.
“You talk to Brock. Brock will tell you how he made him a better player,” Lynch said. “The biggest thing he did is when we needed him, which came early in the season, he went in there and won us a lot of football games, and he kept us in this thing.”
It’s a remarkable arc for Jones, who burst onto the NFL scene with the New England Patriots in 2021, making the playoffs and earning a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie. But by late 2023, he was benched with six games left in the season, and his time in New England came to an end in March 2024 when he was traded to Jacksonville. There, he started seven games in relief of an injured Trevor Lawrence before moving on once again - this time to the Bay Area.
Now, after a season where he not only stabilized a Super Bowl contender but elevated the offense in key moments, Jones has put himself back in the conversation. Whether he’s backing up Purdy again in 2026 or starting somewhere else, one thing is clear: Mac Jones didn’t just bounce back - he proved he still belongs in this league.
And if the 49ers do decide to hold on to him, they’ll be doing so with the confidence that they’ve got one of the most capable backup quarterbacks in football - and a player who’s already shown he can win when it matters.