Kyle Shanahan’s Long Game: Mac Jones Has Arrived in San Francisco, What’s Next?
Kyle Shanahan finally got his guy. Back in 2021, the 49ers traded up to the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft to draft their quarterback of the future. Coming off a 6-10 season that was supposed to be their “Super Bowl Revenge Tour”, it is safe to say it was an underwhelming year.
There was much speculation about who the 49ers would take. Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson were the consensus top two picks, leaving John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan with two options.
Option 1 was Trey Lance, who ended up being selected. He did not do much during his time by the Bay, throwing 5 TDs and 3 INT in 8 games.
Option 2 was Mac Jones, who was drafted by the New England Patriots, where he made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. He regressed after that and spent last season being the backup QB for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The story goes that Kyle Shanahan wanted Mac Jones, but John Lynch wanted Trey Lance. Lynch ended up winning at the moment, but with Mac Jones throwing three touchdowns and not turning the ball over in his first start, Kyle Shanahan looks like the real winner. He got his guy and proved that Mac Jones is a perfect fit for his system.
There's only one problem, though…Shanahan already found his guy. A $53 million per year guy.
Brock Purdy signed a massive extension in the offseason. He is only 25 years old, has led the 49ers to a Super Bowl, and has gone from Mr. Irrelevant to earning the 5th highest contract value of a QB per Spotrac.
There were lots of debates about whether the 49ers should have paid Purdy. Not because he didn’t deserve it, but because there are a lot of superstars on the San Fran roster, and only so much money to go around. Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Trent Williams are all earning premium salaries for their position.
Considering this and the fact that the 49ers have had lots of success with quarterback play that was not considered “superstar” level, some wanted the 49ers not to pay the market value for Brock Purdy, who had the same amount of playoff success as Jimmy Garoppolo.
If Mac Jones can keep winning games while Purdy is sidelined, it will give Shanahan something to think about. The 49ers let Sam Darnold walk after he looked good in a Week 18 game back in 2023. He became a solid starter and got a nice payday from the Seattle Seahawks. Kyle might not want to see his draft day crush walk away and potentially end up on a division rival team, too.
The 49ers almost certainly won’t give up on Purdy. They’ve invested so much into him that he led them to a Super Bowl two years ago. However, it will be interesting to see how the unexpected emergence of Mac Jones will affect how the 49ers handle their draft decisions and roster management moving forward.