Mac Jones did not throw for the San Francisco 49ers this past week due to “Just a little soreness in my shoulder,” according to Jones. He said, “Everything’s clean and looks good, so just kind of being precautionary, I guess, is the word. But yeah, I’ll be ready for training camp.”
Jones reflected on his role and what his job is for the 49ers: “Whenever I’m needed, that’s my job: to support Brock. It’s his team, and he played very well towards the end of the year, and I feel like it was just a lot of fun. We want to continue that — the good vibes in there — and I’m looking forward to trying not to focus on the future, just focus on now.”
Jones recently received added incentives and bonuses to his contract. He earned it after helping the 49ers salvage their season last year while Brock Purdy was out. There are no playoffs in 2025 without Jones, and the Niners know that, which is why Jones was compensated.
How much differently would this offseason have been for Jones had he signed a one-year deal? He looked at it from another angle, saying, “It’s hard, because what if it went the other way? What if I was on a one-year deal and played like crap? And then, I’m on the street.”
Jones said it in a joking manner, but he could’ve also signed a one-year deal, rode the bench all season, and been right back in the same situation. This time around, the 49ers are hoping that’s the case, where Jones doesn’t take the field. Seventeen-plus games of Purdy give the 49ers the best version of themselves.
As for Jones, he’s not stressing this upcoming season: “Any years you can get in the league, just being on a team is a blessing for me. And obviously, I have a higher ceiling than just that, but that’s the basis. You want to make sure you’re good to go. So, I’m not stressing about it. I think it’s all good.”
Perhaps one of the reasons Jones signed a multi-year contract was so he could have the same coordinator for consecutive seasons for the first time since college:
“I think people are seeing what type of teammate I can be, and to do something again twice is sometimes good. Honestly, since college, I haven’t had the same coordinator since 2019 in back-to-back years, so this will be the first time. It’ll be interesting to see if I can stack a good year. Yeah, the one-year versus two-year thing is definitely a legit question, but it’ll all work out how it’s supposed to.”
We shouldn’t rule out Mac staying around in the Bay Area and becoming Purdy’s backup for the foreseeable future:
“I also love it here, and I’m not really in the business of leaving good people, so I’m not mad about it at all. I think it’s a great organization, and I did a lot of fun stuff last year, but it’s a new year. I feel like this is the first year I’ve had the same offensive playbook, being in the NFL, so that’s kind of nice. If you go to a new team, you’ve got to learn a new playbook again and kind of do everything over, so it’s good. I’m excited, and really, just looking forward to this summer and getting everything going again.”
The market will dictate whether Jones returns next season. It’s a strong quarterback draft class, which might help the Niners keep Jones.
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