The Baltimore Ravens’ move for Jacoby Brissett may have done the San Francisco 49ers a favor.
For a while, Mac Jones looked like the kind of quarterback who could tempt a team in need of help into paying a steep price. The 49ers, after all, were never going to part with him cheaply. If they were going to move Jones at all, it felt like the return would have to be substantial.
Baltimore had been one of the more obvious fits. Before the Brissett report surfaced, CBS’ Zachary Pereles even floated the idea that the Ravens could pursue Jones - but only if they were willing to overwhelm San Francisco with an offer.
“It doesn’t seem particularly realistic. Kyle Shanahan has said many times he wants to keep Jones, and the 49ers, like the Bears, have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations right here, right now.
If the 49ers needed a spot start - or even just a few series - from Jones to win a game, it would be worth it. Unlike the Bears, though, the 49ers don’t have a second legit backup.
Kurtis Rourke has never played an NFL snap.
“The Ravens would likely need to blow away the 49ers to have any shot at Jones, and that simply hasn’t been Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta’s M.O. Instead, Bagent and Brissett seem like top options, with a flyer on a younger, potentially intriguing player also a legitimate route for the Ravens to take,” CBS’ Zachary Pereles wrote.
Now that Baltimore is reportedly trading for Brissett from the Arizona Cardinals, that path appears to be closing fast. It doesn’t prove the 49ers are definitely keeping Jones, but it does remove one of the teams that could have pushed San Francisco with a serious offer.
That leaves the 49ers with a little less leverage and a little more clarity. They still have about a week before they need to make a decision on Jones, but unless something dramatic changes, the signs point toward him staying put in San Francisco.
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