With San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy missing three games so far this season due to a toe injury, backup Mac Jones has filled in so well that some are starting to talk about a brewing quarterback controversy.
The Niners are 4-1 and coming off a thrilling win last Thursday at the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. In three starts, Jones has thrown for 905 yards, six touchdowns and one interception while completing 66.7% of his pass attempts, and he looks nothing like the former version of himself who played poorly during the previous three seasons.
Jones is set to be under center once again on Sunday when San Francisco visits the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and if he leads the team to another victory, the calls for him to supplant Purdy as its QB1 will only grow louder. But team legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young feels that Purdy’s starting spot will remain safe.
“Odds are, very much so, that Brock is in a place where he’s going to be able to play, and Mac will probably be forced to go somewhere else,” Young said on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game, per 49ers Webzone. “And that’s probably the odds-on situation.”
Purdy hasn’t looked spry in his two starts so far in 2025, but he’s still the same man who was named to the Pro Bowl and threw for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns during the 2023 campaign. He clearly has a greater level of familiarity with the Niners’ skill players and offensive linemen, not to mention coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme, which would make it difficult to go with Jones over him as the QB1.
There are obviously still many people who doubt Purdy is a good or even an above-average quarterback and feel he’s merely a beneficiary of Shanahan’s system. Those same people would likely argue that Jones, the No. 15 pick in the 2021 draft, has only played well thanks to Shanahan.
The Niners are 4-1 thanks in part to a revitalized defense. But they have been winning games despite injuries to key offensive starters. Tight end George Kittle suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1 and has been out since, and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings have been out lately due to injuries of their own.
Brandon Aiyuk, who led the 49ers in receiving yards in 2023 before tearing his ACL last October, has yet to play this season.
In addition to Purdy’s toe injury, Jones is dealing with oblique and knee ailments. The latter is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest versus Tampa Bay.
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