The San Francisco 49ers are tied with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks at the top of the NFC West at 5-2, and have done this despite a ton of injuries.
Guys like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are out for the year with injuries, while other key contributors like George Kittle and Brock Purdy have missed extended time as well.
Kittle is back for the team, but the team announced that Mac Jones will once again be the starting quarterback on Sunday against the Houston Texans, as Purdy continues to deal with a toe injury.
While the team would love to have Purdy playing, coach Kyle Shanahan and the team couldn’t ask for more from Jones. He has started five of the seven games this year, and he is 4-1. He has thrown for 1,404 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.
Currently in the NFL there are guys like Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold who have had career resurgences after switching to another team. Jones appears to be on a similar path after he lost his job in New England. He had a terrific rookie season in 2021, as he threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was named a Pro-Bowler in that season, and he helped the team make it to the playoffs.
However, he wasn’t able to build off that, and struggled the next two seasons before being traded to the Jaguars in 2024.
The 49ers signed Purdy to a five-year, $265 million deal in March of this year, so he will be the quarterback once he is back fully healthy. However, Jones has allowed the team not to have to rush him back as he has many of the same traits that Purdy does.
Jones and the 49ers will look to continue their impressive start to the season on Sunday when they hit the road to take on the Texans. Houston wasn’t able to get the win at Seattle last week, but the defense played outstanding by forcing four turnovers.
Kickoff between the two teams is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and the game will be on FOX.
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