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Why the 49ers Could Sign Jaguars Quarterback Mac Jones this Offseason

The 49ers need to hedge their bets at quarterback until they're sure they've found someone who's elite.

Grant Cohn

Dec 1, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws the ball against the Houston Texans in the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
Dec 1, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws the ball against the Houston Texans in the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
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The 49ers' quarterback room simply isn't good enough.

Last season, they had Brock Purdy AND Sam Darnold. That was a good quarterback room. Darnold clearly pushed Purdy who had an MVP-caliber year in 2023.

This season, the 49ers have Purdy, whose numbers are down. And behind him, they have Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs, a couple third-stringers who can't win with this roster or push Purdy. They're useless.

The 49ers have to make it a priority to sign a quality backup quarterback this offseason. Someone talented enough to win if Purdy goes down again. Maybe even someone talented enough to replace Purdy if he continues to decline.

In 2021, there were reports that the 49ers considered drafting Mac Jones after trading up for the third pick. Clearly, they liked him when he was coming out of Alabama. Now, the former first-round pick is the backup for the Jaguars and he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Which means the 49ers could get him on a cheap, one-year deal.

Why not?

Purdy definitely is more mobile than Jones, but Jones can move well enough plus he is bigger than Purdy, he has a quicker release than Purdy and he throws a better deep ball than Purdy.

Jones' presence alone should bring out the best in Purdy. And if Purdy doesn't rebound, then the 49ers will have another young talented quarterback they can develop.

The 49ers need to hedge their bets at quarterback until they're sure they've found someone who's elite.

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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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