San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy returned to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals after recovering from a lingering turf toe injury. His return pushed Mac Jones, who started eight games during Purdy's absence and performed admirably, back to the bench.
Jones joined the 49ers in March on a two-year deal, keeping him under contract through the 2026 season. After seeing Jones' strong performances in relief of Purdy, some teams may be weighing what it would take to acquire the quarterback from San Francisco.
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger addressed this scenario on Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game on Tuesday, responding to a question many fans have been asking: would the 49ers trade Jones if the right offer—like a second-round pick—came along?
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Baldinger was blunt in his response.
"I'm not taking the second-round pick," Baldinger said. "Mac Jones just kept them in playoff contention. What other guy is going to do that right now, in the whole league? What other guy is going to keep that—especially when you're losing [LB] Fred [Warner] and [DE] Nick [Bosa]?"
He added, "I'm not letting that guy out of my building."
Baldinger also questioned whether Jones should even want to leave San Francisco. While the quarterback struggled elsewhere, he's found success in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, contrasting his stints at the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars, which Baldinger called "disasters." Would Jones risk joining another struggling team?
"This is a good situation for him," Baldinger said. "We've seen quarterbacks go down under Kyle's offense—not for Kyle's reason—but we've seen a lot of quarterbacks get hurt here in San Francisco. I'm not letting that guy out of my building. I don't care what they offer me."