The San Francisco 49ers arguably have one of the best QB rooms in the NFL, with Brock Purdy as their starter and Mac Jones, a capable backup who has shown he can perform when called upon.
Last season, the Niners had Purdy and Jones start games after the team overcame the absence of its starting QB due to injury. Moreover, this season, the 49ers have a quality backup should their starter miss games, but nothing is guaranteed beyond this upcoming 2026 NFL season.
Jones will be a free agent next year, and if he again shows he’s capable of being a starting QB, as he did last season, there will be suitors lining up to sign him. However, 49ers on SI’s Grant Cohn shared a way that San Francisco could keep Jones long-term, but it would come at a cost for Purdy.
“Unless they move on from Brock Purdy and decide they don’t want to spend $50-something million a year on a quarterback,” Cohn said on the May 21 edition of “49ers Collective.“ “I feel like more and more teams are thinking that way.
“Unless you have [Matthew] Stafford, [Josh] Allen or Patrick Mahomes, you probably shouldn’t be spending $50 million a year on your quarterback. I’m just saying.“
Last season for the Niners, Jones posted a 77.1 overall PFF grade while throwing for 2,151 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Moreover, he also recorded 8 big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays.
49ers Moving Brock Purdy to Keep Mac Jones Not a Wild Idea
Moreover, in that same segment, Larry Krueger of KNBR didn’t entirely rule out the Niners cutting ties to keep Jones long-term.
“The reality is the quarterback position in the NFL is incredibly volatile,“ Krueger said. “While I kind of scoffed when you said they could get rid of Brock Purdy, I don’t think it’s going to happen. But crazier things have happened in the NFL. Once you get an opportunity, all bets are off.”
Niners Want to Keep Mac Jones Past 2026 Season
San Francisco values Jones a lot, so much that they didn’t consider trading him this offseason despite teams needing a QB. With San Francisco holding onto Jones this offseason, 49ers reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, Matt Maiocco, believes that the 27-year-old could stay long-term with the Niners.
“[The 49ers] have their top two guys and might even have their top three with Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, and Kurtis Rourke, who has gotten on the field and could be in line to be the backup in 2027,“ Maiocco said in a May 13 livestream on his YouTube channel. “Although I’m not 100 percent convinced that Mac Jones will be signing somewhere else at the end of this season.
“I think there remains a decent chance that Jones is back with the 49ers as a long-term backup player because I’m not totally convinced that a team would be willing to pay him starter money even in 2027.”
It will be interesting to see whether the 49ers can keep both QBs next season or if the upcoming 2026 season has a major impact on their decision. Nonetheless, for now, the Niners don’t have to worry about their depth at the signal-caller position.
