ESPN’s Adam Schefter had a pre-draft column about what he’s hearing. In the section where he listed potential trade candidates for NFL players this week—San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was listed as one— Schefter does not believe backup quarterback Mac Jones will be dealt:
One quarterback not expected to go anywhere is San Francisco’s Mac Jones, whose market never heated up this offseason. Asked at last month’s owners meetings why he thought there had not been a more robust market for
Jones, Browns coach Todd Monken told reporters he could not comment because the 49ers quarterback is under contract and any comment could be construed as tampering.
“I would just tell Kyle [Shanahan] to cut him,” Monken joked. “And then we’ll see what the market is.”
Jones has one year remaining on his contract. The asking price for a quarterback with a 2026 base salary of $1.4 million being astronomical may have scared teams off.
The 49ers’ asking for a high draft pick in return looks good on the surface. Still, I can’t help but think they’d be better suited to get something in return while the iron was still hot or Jones. In an ideal scenario, Jones never plays another meaningful snap for the Niners. That is because he’s the backup. With that said, if there is any team in the league that has experienced the value of the backup quarterback, it’s this one.
Jones style of play couldn’t be more different than Brock Purdy’s. Take Week 10 against the Rams, for example. Jones had 39 passing attempts, and only five of those were beyond 15 yards. In a day and age where you need your quarterback to have mobility, Jones statue-esque play may have also given teams some pause. Jones scrambled at the second-lowest rate in the NFL and more than two times less often than Purdy did in 2025.
This past season was the second time since his rookie season that Jones threw for more touchdowns than interceptions. History is not on Jones’ side, and the NFL, despite what they saw in 2025, was not willing to risk valuable draft capital on Jones at the price the 49ers wanted.
