San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones had yet another stellar outing in the Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Rams and now the Niners are 3-0 with him as the starter. As a result, the 49ers might have a quarterback controversy once starter Brock Purdy returns from injury.
Mac Jones vs. Brock Purdy: Do the 49ers have a quarterback controversy? originally appeared on The Sporting News
After yet another strong game from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones, fans and analysts are starting to wonder if he might supplant injured starter Brock Purdy when the former Pro Bowler is healthy enough to play.
Purdy has missed three games this season with a toe injury. After returning in Week 4, Purdy aggravated his toe issue against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which led to his being ruled out in Week 5.
In the three games Jones has started, including Thursday night, the Niners are 3-0. Meanwhile, San Francisco is just 1-1 with Purdy under center. San Francisco is averaging 19 points per game in Purdy's starts and 22.6 in Jones' starts.
Jones hasn't just been a spectator and game manager for those wins and instead has been the main catalyst. He was very impressive in Week 5 and was especially unstoppable in the first half.
Jones had a quiet third quarter but turned the jets back on from the fourth quarter on to help San Francisco pull out the win in overtime. Ultimately, Jones finished the game 33-of-49 for 342 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions.
Making his showing on Thursday night more impressive was the fact that the 49ers were absolutely depleted in the pass-catcher department, with Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and George Kittle all missing.
Jones did his damage with the likes of Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson, Jake Tonges and, of course, Christian McCaffrey. Bourne in particular was a machine with 10 catches for 142 yards.
Do the 49ers have a QB controversy?
The answer to this question is probably not, at least in the eyes of the team.
Now, that's not to say that Jones hasn't warranted this at least being a consideration with how well he has played, but we can't forget about the huge financial commitment the Niners have in Purdy.
The Niners signed Purdy to a five-year, $265 million contract during the offseason, so they have 265 million reasons to keep Purdy as the starter. Not to mention, the Niners have already seen Purdy take them to a Super Bowl, so you know Kyle Shanahan has a ton of faith in him.
What Jones' impressive showing does do is allow the Niners to take their time with Purdy to make sure he's 100% healthy upon his return.
Looking further ahead, quarterback-needy teams will surely come calling about a trade for Jones at the deadline in November, although San Francisco might want to hold on to him just in case given Purdy's injury issues this season.
Jones is also under contract in 2026, so the 49ers could look to deal during the offseason, and the former first-round pick could land himself a sweet deal after being traded.
Whatever the Niners decide to do with Jones down the road, we highly doubt Purdy won't be inserted back into his starting job once healthy.
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