The 49ers newest backup QB spoke about his relationship with Brock Purdy, QB coach Mick Lombardi, and the challenges of Kyle Shanahan’s system
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will have a different backup for the third year in a row. After Sam Darnold, it was Josh Dobbs and Brandon Allen. Darnold went on to bigger and better things, while the former two couldn’t say as much.
Enter Mac Jones, who threw at least 20 passes in eight games last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jones started seven games last year and has started 49 games altogether during his 4-year career. It feels like yesterday when we were told Jones would be the No. 3 overall pick by the Niners in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Time flies. Fast forward to 2025, and Jones is a 49er. Jones spoke to the media on Wednesday, discussing the 2021 draft process, his relationship with Purdy, and his desire to play in Kyle Shanahan’s system.
Jones joked about getting into a “huge fight” with Kyle Shanahan after not drafting him a few years ago. Part of the reason Jones wanted to come to the Bay Area is due to their production: “When you look at stats around the league, they’re always in the top-five.”
Jones acknowledged how learning Shanahan’s system has been a “great challenge” because there are things he hasn’t done…ever. Mac is in his fifth year and is being asked to learn different footwork and timing, as well as how he looks at certain things from the defense. Jones said he’ll continue to learn from Purdy, who does a “great job just following his rules and sticking to the program.”
So why is this a good system for Jones? Let’s let him explain:
“I think when you go through your first free agency, that’s the first time you get to pick where you want to play. And obviously this was a really enticing place for me seeing the production that the quarterbacks put out throughout the years in [head coach Kyle Shanahan] Kyle’s offense. Obviously watching [QB] Brock [Purdy] from afar and being a fan from afar, just the way he plays the game, very precise, very on time, cerebral. So it’s all those things that I’ve done at some points in my career and I just want to get more consistent at that. So being here and learning from him and the coaches, not just Kyle, but everybody, all the coaches, I think it’s going to really benefit me just get me back playing how I know I can play and that’s to be ready when I get in there.”
Jones will work closely with quarterbacks coach Mike Lombardi, who was the Patriots receivers coach when Jones was a rookie in New England. Jones called Lombardi a “really high-energy guy” who is the “same guy every day.” Like Jones, Lombardi is hoping this stop works out better for him than things did in New England.
Purdy and Jones’s relationship predates their time with the 49ers. Jones recalled Brock taking an official visit to Alabama, where the two hung out, went to dinner, and played video games at Mac’s apartment. It’s still early, but Jones said the working relationship has been smooth between the two.
Mac was asked if there was anything about Brock that stood out back then that he still sees in Purdy today. Jones called Purdy a “perfectionist” after saying, “We both are.”
In an ideal world, Jones rubs off in a positive way for Purdy, gives him a couple of nuggets during the season, and can flip his stint with the 49ers into a contract that ends up turning into a comp pick for San Francisco.