Mac Jones wouldn’t mind following the Sam Darnold blueprint for resurrecting himself as a starting NFL quarterback after early stumbles.
Darnold spent a year as a backup with the 49ers before moving on to the Vikings and helping them to 14 wins during the 2024 season. Darnold then jumped to the Seahawks and will be back at Levi’s Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Jones was the No. 2 quarterback for the Niners this season and wound up starting eight games while Brock Purdy was injured. Jones threw for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing just under 70 percent of his passes and he said on NFL Network that he understands why Darnold credits his time with Kyle Shanahan with helping him take his game to another level. Jones also said that he thinks his play showed that he’s capable of a No. 1 job.
“Honestly, it’s a business. You know how this goes,” Jones said. “I’ve proven I can be a starter. I’ve proven I can be a starter in multiple different spots. I have 50-plus starts or whatever. I know how to do it, but it’s also a business. I understand both sides of it.”
The business part of things is that Jones remains under contract for the 2026 season and Shanahan said last month that he’d “be very surprised” if Jones was not back with the team. That level of surprise could drop with the right trade offer from another club, but it remains to be seen if that interest will materialize next month.
