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A backup quarterback rarely becomes the centerpiece of a contender's offseason calculus, yet that is exactly where Mac Jones finds himself heading into 2026.
The San Francisco 49ers project as one of the league's strongest rosters, and Bleacher Report's Moe Moton argues in his rundown of one tradeable player per franchise that Jones might be the asset San Francisco eventually moves.
The logic rests on timing. Jones just delivered the most productive stretch of his career since his rookie-year Pro Bowl nod in 2021 with the New England Patriots, filling in for an injured Brock Purdy and steering the club into the postseason.
Across eight starts, the 27-year-old finished 5-3 while registering a personal-best 97.4 passer rating, 7.4 yards per attempt, and a 69.6% completion mark. That rebound stands out given his rough middle seasons, when he posted a 10-22 record from 2022 to 2024 and spent a year backing up in Jacksonville.
Moton sees a clean exit if a quarterback-needy club comes calling. As he put it,
"Jones will be a free agent in 2027. The 49ers could offer him a lucrative deal to stay, but he may want to find a starting job elsewhere. San Francisco committed to Purdy with a five-year, $265 million extension last offseason. If a team offers the 49ers a second-round pick for their backup signal-caller who's in the final year of his contract, they should consider the deal."
Why San Francisco may hold firm until the perfect offer arrives
Here is the wrinkle most trade chatter glosses over: insurance is only valuable when the starter keeps getting hurt, and Purdy keeps getting hurt. That reality should temper any urgency in San Francisco. Purdy has sat out 10 contests over the last two campaigns since his 2023 Pro Bowl and MVP-finalist run, which is precisely why the front office prizes a reliable second option. Moton himself cautions against forcing the issue, noting,
"Purdy has been banged up in the regular season and in the playoffs. So, the 49ers shouldn't be aggressive in an attempt to trade Jones."
Financially, the move would be painless to absorb either way, since Jones agreed to a reworked contract carrying $4.75 million guaranteed plus $2.25 million in available incentives. Jones, for his part, has zero regrets about choosing a two-year pact over chasing a one-year payday.
"It's hard because what if it went the other way? What if I was on a one-year deal and played like crap? And then, I'm on the street," he told reporters Wednesday before laughing.
He added that stability matters more to him than gambling on himself: "Any years you can get in the league, just being on a team is a blessing for me."
San Francisco has chased a championship every year since 2019, reaching two Super Bowls without breaking through under Kyle Shanahan, still hunting its first title since 1994. The right package, perhaps a player rather than a pick, could change everything before the deadline.
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