No Brock Purdy, no problem for the San Francisco 49ers as they started the season at 2-0 behind the arm and confidence of one Mac Jones.
Yes, the same Mac Jones who was basically thrown out of Foxboro after he followed a strong rookie season with back-to-back seasons of decline. While that regression wasn’t all on the shoulders of Jones, he didn’t do much to help his situation with the New England Patriots. Now, with basically a second change under Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, the former first round pick out of Alabama has a chance at redemption.
In Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints, Jones looked like the rookie version of himself passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns. He looked confidence, composed and showed off some swagger in helping the 49ers continue their undefeated ways. If he looks more and more like the guy Shanahan envisioned prior to that 2021 NFL Draft, could he put the heat on Purdy?
Mac Jones has a chance at redemption and a little revenge
While it is unlikely for a quarterback to lose a starting job due to injury, it’s not unheard of. Drew Bledsoe, once marveled as the franchise savior of the Patriots, lost his job a guy in Tom Brady who became an NFL legend and led the team to six Super Bowl victories simply by playing within the system and then once established, putting the team on his shoulder.
Comparing Mac Jones and Purdy to Brady and Bledsoe seems asinine, but if the 49ers drafted Jones back in 2021 there may not be a Purdy (at least in San Francisco), who was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The fact the 49ers traded up and selected Trey Lance and didn’t go with Jones gives Shanahan an opportunity to rectify that decision with Jones under center.
Could Purdy turn into a causality of that type of revenge? Unlikely given Purdy’s contract extension, but it’s the NFL and if Jones rides on that Week 2 performance and looks like the QB Shanahan had high hopes for, anything can happen in an any given Sunday league.
Can Jones win over the team?
When Mac Jones is comfortable in the offense and playing with swag, he has shown he can be a successful quarterback in the NFL. Shanahan saw that confidence on a key third-down conversion in the game:
"I just think Mac's confident in himself. I mean, not everything went perfect, especially the way we started out. We had a big three and out to start. The next time we got up, we're looking at three and out again because it was third and 14. For him to step in and throw that dagger throw to Ricky when the corner was in front of it, there was a guy in his face, but he wasn't sitting there worried about looking bad or anything like that. He had the confidence to make a rip and the confidence in Ricky to step in front of it. So, I think you can see people's personality in how they play, and I think that's what makes guys believe in him."
Purdy has that same confidence, but if his injury lingers and the more comfortable Jones gets and starts to look like the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, a player Shanahan was very high on in that draft, could that injury lead to the 49ers rolling with Jones? With how popular Purdy is with the team, it will take Jones winning over some of that same praise to support such a move.
Hot take: Mac Jones could make Purdy trade bait
In an overreaction league, it’s way too soon to even make this a quarterback controversy, but at the same time the writing could be on the wall for Shannahan to face a Mac Jones vs Purdy dilemma. Both players are the type of QB who has success under Shanahan, but if he can dip into the cerebral talent of Jones and that translates into a string of strong performances while Purdy is out.
With that projected timeline to be two to three weeks, Jones will have to be lights out in those next games to even put smoke on this hot take, but if Purdy returns and the offense struggles, that smoke could turn into heat.
A more realistic take is that Jones at the very least could set himself in position to be a target of another team looking for a starting quarterback. Maybe the Cincinnati Bengals while Joe Burrow is out?