Quarterback Mac Jones is set to make his first start for the 49ers on Sunday when San Francisco takes on New Orleans.
He may be making a few starts for the 49ers, with Brock Purdy considered week-to-week with a toe injury.
In a radio interview with KNBR on Thursday morning, 49ers General Manager John Lynch said that the team is “really pleased” to have Jones.
“Mac was a guy, back in the draft process, we studied a lot, really liked,” Lynch said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “He has had his ups and downs in his NFL career, but since he’s been a part of us, really has taken to our offense, really fits our culture. He can run our offense, and run it well, and we don’t have to change a whole lot when he’s out there.
“So, I’m excited to see him get an opportunity to go show what he can do. And we’ve got to go put together another solid effort on the road in another tough place to play, in New Orleans.”
Jones was the No. 15 overall pick of the 2021 draft. The 49ers were rumored to be interested in him after trading up to No. 3 overall, but ended up selecting Trey Lance at that spot.
Jones has compiled a 20-29 record as a starter in his four pro seasons. Last year, the Jaguars were 2-5 in his seven starts. In 10 total appearances in 2024, Jones completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,672 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Earlier on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will miss anywhere from two to five weeks with a toe injury.
In a Thursday morning interview with KNBR, General Manager John Lynch did not confirm that particular timeline. But he did note that Purdy will at least be out for the Week 2 matchup against the Saints.
“What I can confirm is I talked to, obviously, our trainer, our doctor, Dr. [Robert] Anderson, who’s the preeminent foot and ankle specialist in the NFL,” Lynch said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “What we’re dealing with is kind of a week-to-week thing. That’s our information.
“Brock’s doing well, coming back from it, and we’ll just treat it as such. He’s doing a nice job, doing everything he can to get back out there as soon as possible. And so, that’s where we’re at.”
While Lynch didn’t get into all of the medical test results, he reiterated that they’ll revisit Purdy’s availability on a week-to-week basis.
“Going into the scans and all that, I’ll tell you that the feeling was more on the positive side than what it could have been going in there,” Lynch said. “That was a good thing. We look forward to getting Brock back, but in his stead, we’re confident in Mac and his ability to compete at a high level for us.”
Purdy, who signed a five-year extension in May, finished the first game of the season 26-of-35 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Former first-round pick Mac Jones is slated to start while Purdy is sidelined.
After 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan called quarterback Brock Purdy a long shot to play against the Saints in Week 2 because of a toe injury, he said that Purdy’s absence could extend beyond Sunday.
A report on Thursday indicates that the expectation is that Purdy will be out for more than one game. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Purdy is expected to miss the team’s Week 3 game against Arizona as well and that his absence could stretch to five weeks.
Placing Purdy on injured reserve would mean he’d miss at least four games, but there’s been no sign that the 49ers plan to go that route and a window of that size suggests they’d keep him on the active roster with the hope that he’ll be ready to go on the earlier side of the window.
Either way, it looks like Mac Jones will get his first chance to lead the 49ers offense and that a unit that’s also missing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle will have to adapt on the fly to significant changes to their lineup.
The best thing about this season for Christian McCaffrey is it isn’t last season. The running back and the 49ers downplayed a calf injury during the team’s 2024 training camp and limited practice time before the season opener, and he ended up missing the first eight games with turned out to be bilateral Achilles tendinitis.
So, red flags were raised last Thursday when he popped up on the injury report with a calf injury.
McCaffrey, though, clarified Wednesday that he was never in danger of sitting out the season opener despite the questionable designation.
He played 58 offensive snaps and had 31 touches for 142 yards from scrimmage.
“It was nothing serious,” McCaffrey said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “It never was. I knew I was going to play. I just wanted to be smart with it.”
McCaffrey had a rest day Wednesday.
The 49ers invested a third-round draft pick in kicker Jake Moody in 2023, then stuck by him for two shaky seasons. But when Moody continued to struggle in the first game of his third NFL season, the 49ers cut him. And coach Kyle Shanahan says they didn’t have much choice.
Shanahan said today that Moody may still become a good NFL kicker, but his struggles with the 49ers were affecting him mentally, and a kicker who is struggling mentally can’t stay on the job.
“Jake’s got a chance to have a hell of a future, he’s that talented, but when it gets to that spot — where it is, we know how last year ended, we know how everyone was looking at him, and obviously when it gets to that point you can see it affecting him from a mental game. Then you don’t have much choice. You’ve got to move on,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the conversation with Moody telling him he had been released was not difficult because Moody understands that he’s in a results business and he wasn’t getting results.
“I don’t think it’s that hard to have because I think it is what it is. I think he knows. He wouldn’t disagree with us. He’d have to say why, but it looked like he lost his confidence and he wasn’t kicking the ball well enough and was way too inconsistent,” Shanahan said. “It wasn’t anything I had to beat around the bush on. He knew that.”
Shanahan said Eddy Piñeiro will be the 49ers’ new kicker, and everyone in the building agreed that he’s the best kicker available. He couldn’t be much worse than Moody has been.
