The quarterback market could start moving fast, and the 49ers may be one of the first teams to hear the phone ring.
With the Commanders losing Jayden Daniels (elbow) and the Giants losing Jaxson Dart (knee) for a significant time, if not the year, the need for help under center is suddenly staring a couple of teams right in the face. That puts Mac Jones in the spotlight, because San Francisco has a viable starter sitting behind Brock Purdy.
If the Giants come calling, they might even be the team with the strongest case to make a push. Jameis Winston was dreadful against the Rams on Monday Night Football, and the Giants have to look at every option they’ve got. Jones would be at the top of that list.
Still, the 49ers should treat any inquiry the same way: no thanks. The answer has to be immediate, and it has to be no. Jones is too important to San Francisco right now to move, no matter who asks or what gets offered.
That’s the reality of the 49ers’ situation after two games this season. They look good, and Jones is their best insurance policy if Purdy gets hurt. Without him, the floor drops hard.
They’ve already seen what that kind of backup value can mean. Jones helped keep them afloat and their playoff hopes alive last year when Purdy went down. The 49ers know exactly how ugly things can get when the quarterback room thins out.
And the warning signs around the league only make that clearer. Starting quarterbacks are already dropping early this season, which should be enough for San Francisco to hold tight even if a team dangles a first-round pick.
The real window to move Jones would have been before or during the NFL Draft, when the 49ers could have used the return to add a player who might help this season. Even then, the idea never made much sense. Keeping Jones gives San Francisco more value now than chasing a rookie would have.
The team has lived through this kind of nightmare before, too. In 2023, Purdy tore his UCL in the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles. If the 49ers had had an adequate backup like Jones in that spot, they might have won the game, or at the very least kept it competitive instead of being out of it once Purdy was gone.
So the calls may come. That part seems likely.
But the 49ers should not be tempted, and they probably won’t be. Their interest, if they make any move at all, would be for a defensive lineman or a receiver.
Anything else, and they’d only be weakening themselves by sending Jones away.
In Other News...
Chase Youngs Revival Revives A Painful Commanders Debate
Chase Youngs career has taken on a sharper, more encouraging shape since he left Washington, where injuries kept him from ever fully settling into the dominant force the Commanders expected when they drafted him. After the trade to San Francisco and then a move to New Orleans, the edge rusher has started stacking up the kind of production that once made him one of the leagues most intriguing young defenders, including a 10-sack season and another strong showing that has put his name back in the conversation.
For Washington, the revival brings back an uncomfortable question about what might have been if Young had been healthier in burgundy and gold. His current play is a reminder that the talent was never really gone, only interrupted, and it leaves the Commanders with a familiar what-if tied to one of their biggest recent investments. His rise elsewhere does not change the past, but it does make the debate around his time in Washington feel a lot harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Suddenly Have Real Stakes In One Risky QB Decision
The Commanders decision to carry three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster has already taken on more meaning than a typical developmental move. Rookie Athan Kaliakmanis was expected to spend the season learning behind Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, but with Daniels injured and Mariota slated to start, Washington suddenly has a real reason to keep a close eye on its third quarterback spot.
Adam Peters has made clear why the club liked Kaliakmanis in the first place, pointing to his arm talent and competitiveness while also noting he still has room to grow. For a team trying to balance short-term stability with a long-term plan at the position, that makes the rookies role one of the more interesting developments to watch, especially if the quarterback room is forced to absorb more changes than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Fans Want Dan Quinn Gone But Washington Has A Bigger Problem
The frustration in Washington has been building for weeks, and Dan Quinn is feeling it now more than ever. The Commanders have stumbled through a rough stretch, and when Jayden Daniels went down on a play at the end of the first half against the Cowboys, the conversation around the coach shifted from disappointment to outrage almost instantly.
Daniels dislocated his elbow for the second time in two seasons on a critical call that will hang over Quinn as the scrutiny intensifies. He deserves plenty of criticism for how the situation unfolded, but the bigger issue is the one the Commanders have been wrestling with all along: a thin, inexperienced coaching staff and little reason to believe a midseason change would fix much of anything. [Read more 🡒]