It was a summer of movement for the San Francisco 49ers. After boasting one of the league’s most impressive rosters every year for the past five seasons, head coach Kyle Shanahan had to do some cost-cutting. The primary reason? To give Brock Purdy, earning less than a million on average for his rookie contract, a five-year blockbuster extension and $265 million.
However, the returns haven’t been great so far for the 49ers. For the third time in four seasons, the former Mr. Irrelevant went down with an injury. An elbow injury that was later diagnosed as a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament ended his first year as a starter, before problems in his shoulder and elbow caused him to miss time last season. This time around, though, San Francisco has a relatively solid backup plan in the form of Mac Jones.
How Did Mac Jones Replace Brock Purdy as the Starter?
Coming into the league as a two-time national champion and the Manning Award winner, Jones was seen as the successor to Tom Brady for the New England Patriots. An electric rookie season, where he led the team to the playoffs and earned a Pro Bowl selection, seemed like the ideal start.
However, things quickly fell apart for the youngster during a tumultuous period for the Patriots, leading to a trade to serve as Trevor Lawrence’s backup on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
An injury to the former first overall pick allowed Jones to take over the starting job. But his performance wasn’t enough to warrant another consideration as a starter. Instead, he signed a two-year contract with the 49ers worth $7 million on March 14, 2025.
Just a week into the season, however, he got another break. A turf toe injury to Brock Purdy, suffered in Week 1, meant that the newly extended quarterback would have to spend some time on the sidelines.
An initial recovery period of 2-5 weeks meant Jones was getting the starting job, at least for the time being. His first start under Kyle Shanahan arrived in a game against the pitiful New Orleans Saints.
On his end, the former first-round pick held his own, completing 26 of his 39 passing attempts for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Still, it was uncertain if he would keep the job for Week 3 with Purdy potentially being integrated back into practice.
However, as the week ended, Shanahan admitted that his superstar quarterback’s chances of taking the field against the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals were “highly unlikely.”
As a result, for the second consecutive week, Jones remains the starter for San Francisco.
