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One of the key reasons injuries didn't fully derail the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 season was backup quarterback Mac Jones, and it sounds like the 49ers are more interested in retaining him than trying to move him this offseason.
Jones, who signed a two-year deal with San Francisco in free agency last offseason, kept the 49ers afloat with a 5-3 record across eight starts. He completed a career-high 69.6 percent of his throws, posted a career-best 4.5 percent touchdown rate, and a career-low 2.1 percent interception rate. His yards per attempt (7.4) and passer rating (97.4) were also the highest marks of his career.
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Typically former first-round picks who perform well in a backup capacity get an opportunity as a starter the following year. Jones's two-year deal means he has one season left in San Francisco. It also means the 49ers could get a substantial haul for the 2025 free agent in a trade to a quarterback-needy team.
Neither head coach Kyle Shanahan nor general manager John Lynch appeared eager to deal Jones when they spoke with reporters at their end-of-season press conference Wednesday.
"Awesome conversations with him, just like I did with a number of players," Shanahan said. "As any player on our team, including myself and John, you always listen to people and trade offers, but we're also not into getting rid of good players. So, I'd be very surprised if Mac wasn't around us next year.”
Lynch echoed Shanahan's sentiments that the 49ers believe Jones is a good player they want to keep around.
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“Mac made this place better," Lynch said. "He was outstanding this season. He picked us up in a huge way and it was it was a really fun process to watch him come in and the joy that he was playing with. He's got an infectious attitude that affects everybody on our team. It affected that quarterback room. You talk to [QB] Brock [Purdy], Brock will tell how he made him a better player.
"Biggest thing he did is when we needed him which came early in the season, he went in there and won us a lot of football games and he kept us in this thing. So, I can't say enough about Mac, not only his play, his leadership. I call it leadership. Do you make people around you better? And I think Mac did that all season. And so, he's been an outstanding addition. Like Kyle said, you always listen, but I know we're a better football team with Mac Jones on our roster.”
It's an interesting conundrum for the 49ers, who will almost assuredly receive trade inquiries on Jones, who will be 28-years old when next season starts and entering his sixth NFL season as a former No. 15 overall pick. And while Shanahan and Lynch are never going to make it known they're open for business on a player, it stands to reason their asking price on Jones would be high.
Jones proved he can win games for the 49ers by operating Shanahan's offense with precision. Given Purdy's injury history, including the eight games he missed in 2025, the 49ers may want to keep a backup signal caller they know they can win with. In 2024 they didn't have that player behind Purdy and it was clear they weren't going to win any games Purdy missed. They went 0-2 without him.
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If a team calls and offers a first or second-round pick, the conversation changes a little bit. But if a quarterback-needy team is hoping to snag Jones from the 49ers without giving up any kind of substantial draft capital, they may be quickly rebuffed by a head coach and GM who are both high on QB2.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL trade rumors: 49ers not eager to deal Mac Jones
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