49ers turn to Mac Jones at QB, years after weighing him with the No. 3 pick

The San Francisco 49ers will not place quarterback Brock Purdy on injured reserve, indicating the team expects Purdy's turf toe-like injury to be healed in time for him to not miss as many as four games and that he will be eligible to return to play by Week 5, if not sooner.

Purdy suffered the injury, along with a left shoulder injury, in Sunday's win against the Seahawks. He did not practice this week, and on Wednesday head coach Kyle Shanahan said he considered Purdy a "long shot" to play this week against the Saints.

Coming off an injury riddled 6-11 season that saw them finish last in the NFC West, the 49ers have a softer schedule in September. After the narrow win in Seattle, San Francisco faces the Saints, Cardinals and Jaguars this month. Their first game of the season against a playoff team from last year comes in Week 5 against the Rams.

Though unlikely, it is still possible Purdy misses the next four games, but uncertainty with the injury coupled with his value to the team make it worth the Niners keeping him on the roster in the event he can return in a few weeks. After being on one of the best deals in all of sports, Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million contract this offseason.

The 49ers already placed All-Pro tight end George Kittle on injured reserve after he suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday's game. He will be eligible to return in Week 6 against the Buccaneers, just days after his 32nd birthday.

What Brock Purdy, George Kittle injuries mean for 49ers, NFC West race and 2025 NFL playoff picture

Cody Benjamin

San Francisco will now start Mac Jones this week against the Saints. Jones will make his 50th career start in his career that has spanned three franchises, and this will be his first start for the team that many thought would draft him more than four years ago.

In 2021, the 49ers were prepared to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo just a year and a half removed from a Super Bowl appearance. The Niners traded up to No. 3 a month before the draft, signaling to the league their intention of drafting a rookie quarterback.

Trevor Lawrence was the consensus top pick, and the Jaguars made no secret of their desire to take him No. 1 overall. A strong pro day performance from Zach Wilson catapulted him to No. 2 to the Jets. And the Niners liked both Jones and Trey Lance for the third overall pick.

According to a source, after all the quarterbacks worked out, Lance had clearly separated himself in the eyes of Shanahan and GM John Lynch. The North Dakota State product had only started in 17 collegiate games, but Shanahan loved his athleticism and potential.

"Trey's mobility gave him a leg up, especially considering that around that time was when the full shift to mobile QBs was happening around the league," said another source familiar with the team's thinking. "They were both plenty smart. Trey's arm was stronger and he was more mobile. At that time when things broke down on Jimmy G, his legs didn't offer a way out."

Jones was strongly connected to the Niners by league insiders ahead of the draft, and Shanahan had no reason to correct the record.

"I would never have said it couldn't have ended up being [Jones], but I know how we felt about Trey the whole time," Shanahan said in 2021, "and to watch that happen and kind of watch everyone just assumes 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 for us. ... If the whole NFL is assuming you're doing one thing and you're not doing that, I'm not going to work hard to correct that. So, let that be."

Lance dealt with injuries in his first two seasons with the 49ers and appeared in just eight games with four starts across the two years. San Francisco famously drafted Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 draft, and he led them to the NFC title game that season after injuries to both Lance and Garoppolo. The next year, the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. He is currently the Chargers' No. 2 QB. 

Meanwhile, Jones -- a national champion out of Alabama -- went 15th overall to the Patriots as the one and only quarterback drafted in the first round by Bill Belichick. After a Pro Bowl season in 2021, Jones fell out of favor with Belichick and was benched multiple times. He was eventually traded to his hometown Jaguars in 2024, where he started seven games before signing with the 49ers this offseason.

This week marks the first time Jones has worked with the first-team offense in San Francisco. But he has plenty of familiarity with one player. Jones played all three of his seasons in New England with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who began his career in San Francisco in 2017 and rejoined the 49ers this week on a one-year contract.