The irony of Brock Purdy’s injuries that could keep him out of Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season for the San Francisco 49ers is this:
‘Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan always kind of wanted Mac Jones.
And if Purdy misses time, Jones will start for the 49ers. He came to San Francisco this season to back up Purdy.
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Shanahan once thought he could be so much more.
Heading into the 2021 NFL Draft, Shanahan had his eyes on two QBs: Trey Lance, and Jones.
The 49ers ended up taking Lance No. 2 overall out of North Dakota State, and that didn’t work out at all.
Reports during the 2021 draft season had the 49ers tied to Lance and Jones, and Shanahan actually admitted as much on a podcast in 2022 when discussing their trade up to the No. 3 overall selection to draft a quarterback.
“We did the trade so early that it made me feel good about it,” Shanahan said. “I knew before we did it how I felt about the quarterbacks and how good we would be to take them at 12. There were two that I really wanted… Mac Jones and Trey [Lance]. Those were the two guys that we were locked in on from the beginning.”
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Jones wound up sliding to the No. 15 overall selection by the New England Patriots.
He played three seasons with the Pats, compiling an 18-24 record as a starter. A 10-7 rookie season quickly turned into two underwhelming follow-up efforts.
That led to Jones’ move to Jacksonville for 2024, where he backed up Trevor Lawrence but wound up starting seven games and going 2-5 with eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
By now, Purdy is the big-money San Francisco quarterback despite being selected a lot later than Lance or Jones ever was. Mr. Irrelevant is the face of the 49ers now.
But if he sits out, Jones will be Shanahan’s guy. Once upon a time, that’s exactly how Shanahan envisioned it.
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