Once upon a time, as is well known, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan really coveted quarterback Mac Jones going into the 2021 NFL Draft. Of course it didn't go that way, or work out well, as Trey Lance was ultimately the pick at No. 3 overall.
As we know, Jones signed a two-year deal with the Niners this offseason, and any faint idea he might seriously challenge Brock Purdy for the starting job was put all the way to bed when the 49ers signed Purdy to the long-term deal they were always going to.
The New England Patriots were the team who drafted Jones in 2021 (15th overall). He was a Pro Bowler as rookie, then things went downhill from there. Matt Patricia and Joe Judge were New England's offensive "brain trust" in his second season, and Jones clearly had issues with Patricia. In his third and final year with the Patriots, he again lacked weapons and was benched for Bailey Zappe.
Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024. He started seven games late in the season when Trevor Lawrence was out, with respectably average numbers in that sample of action.
Mac Jones has easy example showing how Kyle Shanahan recently resurrected a career
After five rough seasons to start his career with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, Sam Darnold took what amounted to a gap year with the 49ers as Purdy's backup in 2023. He started a meaningless regular season finale that year, to offer some fresh game tape as he moved toward free agency. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, and had the best season of his career last year before getting a multi-year deal from the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell laid out the path for Jones to repeat what Darnold did with the 49ers:
"If there's one player attempting to explicitly go on the Darnold rejuvenation path, it's Jones. Darnold restarted his career by joining the 49ers in 2023, where he spent the season as a backup to Brock Purdy. Darnold threw only 46 passes in a San Francisco uniform, most of which came in a meaningless Week 18 game against the Rams. Working with coach Kyle Shanahan apparently did enough to rebuild Darnold's confidence before he left for a one-year deal with Minnesota, though. You know what happened next."
"Like Darnold, Jones was once regarded as a promising young quarterback, only for his game to fall apart amid injuries, porous offensive lines and questionable coaching."
"This will be the best offensive infrastructure Jones has played in since his time at Alabama. The question is whether he ever sees the field. There has been a need for a reliable backup in San Francisco, even after Purdy's ascension. Purdy suffered a serious elbow injury in the 2022 NFC Championship Game, left a 2023 loss to the Ravens with a stinger and missed two games in 2024 with shoulder and elbow injuries. Jones probably isn't going to win the job away from the $265 million QB, but don't be surprised if he plays well enough to get a more significant opportunity elsewhere on his next deal in 2026."
Even if Jones barely plays this season, he's under contract with the 49ers for another year and it's pretty unlikely they'd trade or release him in 2026 (unless he asked to be?).
So, Jones actually has a two-year window to follow Darnold's path to career resurrection under Shanahan's wing, which can only help it be more likely his career is revived in similar fashion.
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