The idea of Mac Jones being one of the more movable backup quarterbacks in football never really got off the ground, and that says plenty about where things stand for the 49ers.
Last offseason, there was real buzz that San Francisco might shop Jones after he revived his career during the 2025 season. But no deal came together, and the most likely explanation was simple: either the market wasn’t there, or the price was too rich for teams in need of quarterback help.
At the time, the 49ers could afford to wait. There was always the possibility that interest would pick up closer to the NFL trade deadline. It hasn’t.
In fact, there’s now a strong case that Jones is going to finish out his contract in the Bay Area, with that deal running through the end of this season.
Look at the names that keep surfacing ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline, including this ESPN rundown, and Jones usually isn’t part of the conversation. The one exception noted was a speculative idea from Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, who floated the notion of the 49ers sending Jones to the Philadelphia Eagles because of Jalen Hurts’ health issues, with San Francisco then signing Jimmy Garoppolo to take Jones’ place on the roster. But that idea feels more like a what-if than a real path forward.
The Eagles, sitting at 2-5, don’t look like a team ready to part with draft capital for a quarterback in Jones’ situation, especially if Hurts isn’t in their long-term plans.
And Philadelphia isn’t the only team that fits that description. Clubs such as the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and even the Los Angeles Chargers are all either staring at a better shot at a top-10 pick in April’s draft, or dealing with the possibility that their head coach could be out the door. In those spots, it rarely makes sense to trade for a quarterback before the bigger organizational picture gets sorted out.
For Jones to suddenly draw serious interest, the equation would have to change quickly. The clearest way that happens is if a playoff team loses its entrenched starter to a major injury.
If the Eagles were 5-2 instead of 2-5, the conversation around Jones would look a lot different. Then there’d be a real market for the 49ers backup.
As things stand, though, he’s set to keep backing up Brock Purdy, just as he did a year ago.
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At least two San Francisco players leaned into the reference, with one showing up in a jersey and another in a jail outfit, turning a serious off-field case into the kind of locker-room debate that can follow a team long after the music stops. It was a reminder that viral stories have a way of bleeding into NFL culture quickly, especially when the subject already comes with enough controversy to make a Halloween costume feel like commentary. [Read more 🡒]