Has Mac Jones Forced a QB Controversy?
Unlikely, but not without uncertainty.
If you asked anyone in May of 2025, if Mac Jones could be in a quarterback controversy with newly extended and $265 million dollar man Brock Purdy, you’d likely be called insane. Fast forward to today and it’s a worthy question to consider. Kyle Shanahan is unlikely to move off his massive investment, but Mac Jones has played exceptionally well in his absence.
NFL legends Tom Brady and Richard Sherman both, when asked if the 49ers should turn back to Purdy when healthy, were hesitant to pull out Mac Jones from the starting line up. Each stated they would and think the 49ers should ride with the hot hand. Has Jones done enough to dethrone the newly paid franchise quarterback?
Jones stepped in for Purdy after his turf toe injury took him out of the line-up. Jones has won five of his eight starts including an overtime win on the road over the divisional rival Los Angeles Rams. This was without top options Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and George Kittle. He to date has posted the best passer rating of his career and currently has his best touchdown to interception ratio as well. Jones also is among the league leaders in passing yards per game. All of these stats are great for any quarterback looking to revive his career but when you are the back up stepping in, these numbers become phenomenal.
Shanahan has admitted that Jones was among the quarterbacks he was happy with selecting when the team made the move up to third overall in 2021. It is clear what makes him appealing to Shanahan. He has shown this year he can play in rhythm and good timing, displays consistent accuracy, and has shown incredible toughness. These traits are ones that have appealed to Shanahan over his tenure with the 49ers.
Demonstrating these traits have made Jimmy Garoppolo and Purdy two of the richest quarterbacks in league history. While Jones has been everything the 49ers wanted and more from their back-up, is this really enough to take the starting role from Purdy? The media sure is propping up a quarterback controversy for a team that has had its fair share of them in the past.
The details surrounding Purdy’s injury have been odd to say the least. He came back in week four and struggled, just to be a weekly “we’ll see” since, without any true timeline. This is not his first significant injury, either. Clearly, Shanahan and John Lynch were conformable enough with his health issues to commit substantial money to Purdy, but his injury history is adding up.
This certainly makes the argument compelling because it has brought some to mention this is an excuse to keep Jones on the field. Jones has been incredibly successful so far and the argument of not removing the hot hand at quarterback does make sense but not for a team that has shown signs it knows its ceiling is not a Super Bowl caliber team.
The 49ers have dedicated this season to getting the young guys valuable reps and their high paid veterans have been tasked with carrying this group. Benching your $265 million dollar quarterback sends the exact opposite message. Not to mention moving on from Purdy would be financial malpractice after just extending him.
Shanahan and Kittle have stated, Purdy is this team’s starter and that he is a very good quarterback. Let’s not forget the success he has had over his tenure and that he has run this offense at a better rate than anyone else in the Shanahan era. The question that can be raised from all this, “is Purdy really $50 million better than Jones?” That is still up in the air, but the franchise quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, is not.