After weeks of reports saying it would likely happen, quarterback Mac Jones won't be joining the San Francisco 49ers. And that seems to be just fine by him.
Jones was mentioned by a number of reporters as the likely choice of the 49ers ever since they traded up from pick 12 to pick 3 in March. But when the time came for the 49ers to make their selection at pick 3 Thursday night, Jones was left at the altar while the 49ers decided to hitch their wagon to Trey Lance.
Jones fell to pick 15 in the first round, where he was scooped up by the New England Patriots. Not long after the Patriots made him their selection, Jones told reporters that New England was where he was hoping to wind up from the beginning.
"At the end of the day, you just kind of want to get the right fit," Jones said when asked about being passed up by the 49ers, per NESN.com. "I feel like secretly, I really wanted to go to the Patriots all along. So, I'm actually really happy that happened. It doesn't really matter where you get picked. You have to take the opportunity and take advantage of it and learn the new system, learn the new coaches, learn the new culture, and Coach (Bill) Belichick has done a great job of establishing that throughout his time in New England."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Thursday night that the team was indeed interested in Jones but that all the speculation surrounding Jones winding up with the 49ers was inaccurate.
"I think I was in Mexico the day we made the trade, and within hours, there are at least two people out there speculating that their opinions are they think we're taking Mac Jones, and ever since then I've kind of just watched every single person assume that was accurate, and that those weren't opinions, those were facts," Shanahan said. "And we didn't feel that way. From the beginning. I wouldn't say there was no chance we wouldn't have (picked Jones). We wanted to go through this process, and I would never have said it couldn't have ended up being him. But I know how we felt about Trey the whole time.
"To watch that happen and to kind of watch everyone just assume because a couple people say something that's exactly how you feel, we weren't going to work to correct that. At all. We thought that could be an advantage to us."
At least all parties seem to be happy with the way things played out. It'll certainly be interesting to watch the careers of Lance and Jones unfold from here, and who knows -- maybe they'll get a chance to face off on the field somewhere down the line.