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Grading the 49ers' Signing of Quarterback Mac Jones

Jones was a first-round pick for a reason.

Grant Cohn

Dec 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws a pass against the New York Jets during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Dec 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws a pass against the New York Jets during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
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The 49ers could have extended Brock Purdy's contract by now. Instead, they signed Mac Jones to a two-year, $7 million deal.

In addition, Purdy's quarterback coach, Brian Griese, no longer is on the coaching staff. His replacement, Mick Lombardi, was on the Patriots coaching staff when Mac Jones was a rookie. Hmm.

The 49ers haven't said that Jones is here to compete with Purdy for the starting job. They haven't said anything about the signing yet, actually. But now they have leverage in their negotiations with Purdy.

If Purdy and his agent insist on getting more than $50 million per season, the 49ers can say no. And if Purdy holds out and doesn't go to OTAS, Jones can take all the reps with the starters and the 49ers can see if he's just as good as Purdy for a fraction of the price. There's your competition.

Jones was a first-round pick for a reason. He has a terrific arm. I'm guessing he would have put up big numbers and won lots of games if he had been the 49ers' starting quarterback in 2023. Many quarterbacks would have been successful on that team.

At a minimum, Jones gives the 49ers a high-quality backup with starting experience. At most, he gives them a cheap starting quarterback if the negotiations with Purdy go sideways and the 49ers decide to trade him.

Which means Jones gives the 49ers options. And he plays the most important position on the team.

This is a great signing.

GRADE: A

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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