49ers Get Clear Message on Brock Purdy, Mac Jones Situation
Mac Jones notched his third victory since joining the San Francisco 49ers, leading the team to a 26-23 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5 at SoFi Stadium.
Jones looked in command all night, finishing 33 of 49 for 342 yards and two touchdowns. With Brock Purdy sidelined by injuries since the Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Jones has stepped in flawlessly, accounting for three of San
Francisco’s four wins this season.
Purdy’s return in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars resulted in the team’s only loss, fueling talk of a potential quarterback controversy for the 49ers. Nonetheless, NFL analyst Brian Baldinger sent a clear message to San Francisco on what they should do with their quarterback situation.
“If he’s 95% why put [Brock Purdy] out there?” Baldinger said during an appearance on 95.7 The Game on October 7. “Until you’re absolutely certain he’s
100% and if Mac [Jones] wins a fourth game against a very good Tampa team, then I would definitely leave him in at this point.”
Do the 49ers Have a QB Controversy?
Although there are conversations over whether the 49ers have a quarterback controversy, sports media host Jim Rome doesn’t believe that’s the case. Moreover, he states that San Francisco are in a fortunate situation with their signal-callers.
“It’s the opposite of a quarterback controversy,” Rome said on the October 3 edition of “The Jim Rome Show. “ “(…) This is not the way I see it. You know what that is?
That’s not a quarterback controversy. What that is, is the opposite. It’s a great quarterback situation.
“What they have is a cheap, quality backup who they believe in, who’s
a great fit for the system, who’s already won three games in a row. And he competes his ass off, he’s tough as hell, and his teammates respond to him. They love him, and they are Brock. So how is this a problem? It seems like the opposite of a problem to me.”
Does Mac Jones Want to Be the 49ers‘ Starting QB?
After the 49ers defeated the Rams, a reporter asked Jones during his postgame press conference if he envisions himself as the
team’s starting quarterback going forward.
“They brought me here to play as a backup,“ Jones said (h/t KNBR). “That’s my job. Brock is the starter of this team. Right now
he’s dealing with something, and for him to go out there last week and play, when you know he probably wasn’t at full health, he cares about this team.“
Jones stressed that he still views Brock Purdy as the starting quarterback while he serves as the backup and offered additional insight into how he plans to approach the 49ers’
season moving forward.
“I’ve been in [Purdy’s] position, I’ve been a starter and you want your backup to go in there and win because at the end of the season that could be the hit or miss between a playoff or not,
“ Jones added.
It will be interesting to see how this entire scenario plays out if Jones leads the 49ers to another victory in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
