SANTA CLARA - The 49ers have one of the league’s most enviable quarterback setups, and that reality is exactly why Mac Jones keeps surfacing in trade chatter.
John Lynch isn’t exactly slamming the door on the idea. He just isn’t opening it, either.
The 49ers general manager said Thursday on KNBR 680-AM that there are “a bunch of different arguments” around Jones’ value, but he stopped well short of treating the backup quarterback like a piece the team is eager to move.
“You could make a bunch of different arguments and I’m sure people have multiple opinions. I’ll just leave it at that,” Lynch said.
That’s the tension here. Jones could be a solution for quarterback-needy teams like the Giants, who are trying to survive after Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury in Monday night’s loss to the Rams. And around the league, other clubs are already staring at injury problems of their own, with Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Chicago’s Caleb Williams, Minnesota’s Kyler Murray, Seattle’s Sam Darnold and Atlanta’s Tua Tagovailoa all dealing with issues.
But the 49ers also have a real reason to keep Jones close. He’s not just Brock Purdy’s backup. Lynch described him as a jolt to the locker room, someone whose personality fits with the group and even helps draw more of Purdy’s personality out.
“It’s a really special situation to have Brock here and to have Mac here, and to have a guy we’re really excited about in Kurtis Rourke,” Lynch said. “… There are opportunities where you receive calls and then you make decisions accordingly. But we love our situation at quarterback.”
That’s the broader picture the 49ers are working with. Purdy is off to a 2-0 start and playing the best football of his five-year career. The team committed to him with a $50 million-per-year deal last season, which quieted any noise about a quarterback battle after Jones’ strong run as the starter in Purdy’s absence.
Jones went 5-3 last season when Purdy was out with a Week 1 toe injury, and that stretch helped keep the 49ers afloat while injuries piled up everywhere else on the roster. The team also privately told Jones early in the spring that he would not be traded, even though speculation kept following him.
“Obviously you want to have a chance to start but I also love it here and I’m not really in the business of leaving good people,” Jones said June 4. “I’m not mad about it at all.”
Still, the math is obvious. If Purdy keeps rolling and Jones keeps looking like a starter-caliber insurance policy, the 49ers have to ask whether he’s too valuable to keep on the bench and whether Kurtis Rourke can hold down the QB2 job. Rourke only made his debut this preseason after missing his rookie year while recovering from ACL surgery.
And the trade deadline is still weeks away, with Nov. 10 looming like a long way off in a league where injuries can change everything in a hurry.
That’s why Lynch framed quarterback depth as a luxury and a necessity at the same time. He pointed to the old 49ers blueprint, invoking Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Steve Bono as proof that strength at the position can keep a team protected and flexible.
“I think back to Bill Walsh and maybe he was on to something when he had Joe Montana but he also brought Steve Young in here, and had Steve Bono behind them,” Lynch said. “It’s a good position to be in a position of strength at, and it provides opportunities in a number of ways, the most important way being you’re well insulated in the event something were ever to happen.”
Lynch also made it clear the 49ers would listen if the right move came along. He referenced past swings, from Christian McCaffrey in 2022 to Charles Omenihu in 2021, as examples of how the team has handled opportunities before.
“Things don’t tend to heat up unless … you’re looking at the New York Giants who lost their starting quarterback and I’m sure they’re actively making calls. That’s part of your job, to look at people who can improve you,” Lynch said.
“Look at our history, from big splash moves like Christian McCaffrey (in 2022) to little subtle ones like a Charles Omenihu (in 2021) that really picked up our team,” Lynch added. “There are variety of ways to do it. We’ve shown we’ll be active if the opportunity presents itself, it’s right and you can work out a deal.”
For now, though, Jones remains exactly what the 49ers say they value most: a proven backup, a good teammate and a player who can still bring a little spark when he steps in.
“We’re very fortunate to have Mac,” Lynch added. “The guy is so fun to watch play.”
Jones even flashed that energy in Sunday’s home opener, relieving Purdy in the fourth quarter and spinning near the sideline on a scramble for a first down. It was the kind of play that reminds you why teams keep asking about him.
Whether he’s still in Santa Clara after this season is a different question. His contract expires after the year, though he already picked up a $300,000 bonus this spring for last season’s fill-in work.
For Jones, though, the appeal this year wasn’t just the money or the attention. It was getting to stay in the same offense.
“It’s a great organization and did a lot of fun stuff last year, but it’s a new year and this is the first year I’ve had where I’ve had the same offensive playbook being in the NFL. That’s kind of nice,” Jones said in June. “When you go to a new team, you have to learn a new playbook again and kind of do everything over.”
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