Mac Jones is becoming the latest quarterback to prove he was dumped too soon.
Playing for his third team in three years, the 2021 first-round pick has thrived with the San Francisco 49ers in coach Kyle Shanahan’s system. Jones is 3-0 filling in for Brock Purdy following a tough, gritty performance in a 26-23 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
Jones threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns to help the injury-depleted 49ers pull off an improbable upset with Purdy, two-time All-Pro tight end George Kittle, left guard Ben Bartch and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings all sidelined. Star edge rusher Nick Bosa also is out for the season for San Francisco.
“Kyle came up to me before the game and he was (ticked) how we were underdogs and he was like: ‘Let it fly.’ I’m like: ‘Coach, you don’t have to tell me twice,‘” Jones said on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast. “We made it happen. I’m happy for the guys. What a great team win.”
Jones was selected 15th overall by the New England Patriots, a year after Tom Brady departed for Tampa Bay. He had an impressive rookie season and led the Patriots to the playoffs but struggled after offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left New England. Jones went 8-17 over the next two seasons and was traded to Jacksonville. He started seven games as a backup for the Jaguars last year, going 2-5.
The 49ers signed Jones to back up Purdy, who received a five-year, $265 million contract extension that included $181 million guaranteed.
A toe injury forced Purdy to miss two games and Jones led the 49ers to a pair of victories. Purdy returned last week but was out again.
With he 49ers missing more than half the offensive starters, Jones’ performance against the Rams was even more impressive.
“I can’t say enough good things about Mac,” 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said. “He’s a warrior. … He’s so poised throughout the entire game. His toughness and his overall grit helps us win these football games.”
Jones has clearly benefited from working with coach Shanahan, who turned Purdy from Mr. Irrelevant into a franchise quarterback and also went to a Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppolo.
Coaching makes a difference.
Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold are prime examples. They’ll face each other Sunday when Mayfield leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks.
Mayfield was drafted No. 1 overall by Cleveland in 2018 and two years later led them to 11 wins and the franchise’s only playoff victory since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999. But he was released after one more season when the team made a blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson.
Mayfield went to Carolina in 2022 where he played with Darnold. He was cut during the season, signed with the Rams and went to Tampa Bay to replace Brady in 2023.
He’s become a top-tier quarterback and leads the NFL with 77 touchdown passes since joining the Buccaneers.
Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018. He was 13-25 in three seasons with two coaches and two offensive coordinators before getting traded to Carolina. He was 8-9 in two seasons with the Panthers and spent 2023 backing up Purdy and learning from Shanahan.
Darnold got another chance to start when J.J. McCarthy was injured last year in Minnesota and flourished under coach Kevin O’Connell. He led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, made the Pro Bowl and signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle.
“I don’t know if it’s as much about that next opportunity as it is finding that right fit, the right fit in a coach-player relationship, the right fit in scheme, the right fit with the right weapons around them,” two-time national champion quarterback Tim Tebow said. “You just see so many of these quarterbacks go to certain teams and. … it doesn’t look like a fit, doesn’t look like they’re developing and then they’re at a different team and all of a sudden they come alive because not everybody has the same skill set, not everybody can do the same thing and you need to find the right fit to bring it out.”
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp played with Mayfield briefly in Los Angeles in 2022 and now catches pass from Darnold. He believes quarterbacks aren’t getting enough time to develop before teams get rid of them.
“You’ve got to give guys the ability to learn, make mistakes and truly give guys the freedom to make mistakes,” Kupp said. “Guys across the league, rookies come in here, make huge mistakes. I know I’ve made my fair share. And as a quarterback, you are put in a position where you have to make these decisions. And you’re put in a position to make a mistake out of 10, 20, 30 times what most other guys are. So, there’s going to be more mistakes, there’s going to be more errors. But we’re so critical of those guys because they have the ball all the time. Give the guys a chance to learn, figure it out, and don’t put the pressure on and if you make a mistake, just let it rip. Go do it again. It’s fine.
“These are part of growing in this league. It’s a natural process that’s going to happen. I think the best quarterbacks in this league have been in positions early on where they can grow into that and make those mistakes behind the scenes or they’re given a position to go out there and learn and let it fly. And coaches have said: ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m secure in myself. We’re secure enough to trust that you’re going to be able to figure these things out.’ I think those guys flourish if you just let them get to that place.”
Mayfield and Darnold have done that. So have Jared Goff, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones. Now, Jones is showing that some quarterbacks just need to find the right fit for them.
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By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer
