Mac Jones finally gives Kyle Shanahan chance to redeem brutal 49ers trade

The San Francisco 49ers will be without Brock Purdy in Week 2 as he recovers from turf toe, which carries an expected recovery timeline of 2-5 weeks, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. In his place, Mac Jones will line up under center for the Niners' Sunday afternoon showdown with the New Orleans Saints.

This is a full-circle moment for Jones and his new head coach, Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers, equipped with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, zeroed in on two potential candidates at quarterback: Trey Lance or, yes, Mac Jones. In the end, San Francisco swapped two first-round picks to move up to No. 3 and draft Lance. Jones fell to the New England Patriots at No. 15, and we all know what happened there.

It's hard to take many positives from this particular series of events. Jones was miserable in New England. Bill Belichick essentially made it his final mission as an NFL head coach to bully Jones out of Foxboro. Meanwhile, the Lance pick bombed and it didn't take long for San Francisco to settle on Brock Purdy, the very last pick of the 2022 draft.

To quote GM John Lynch: "Thank God for Mr. Irrelevant. He helped us."

Lance is currently the backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers. And Jones, well, he's going to start for Kyle Shanahan in Week 2. It's a chance for Jones to reclaim his NFL future, and a chance for Shanahan to finally get a first-hand look at how the Alabama product looks in his scheme. I'm not sure how much better things work out in an alternate reality where Jones is the Niners' pick in 2021, but does Purdy ever even end up in San Francisco? Lest we forget, Jones was sensational as a rookie, and he probably doesn't suffer the same psychic damage under Shanahan that he did under Belichick. It's a fascinating what-if ...

49ers can finally put the Trey Lance trade behind them with Mac Jones

Shanahan has spoken publicly about his interest in Jones before, back in 2022.

"We did the trade so early that it made me feel good about it," Shanahan said on the I Am Athlete Podcast (h/t Yahoo). "I knew before we did it how I felt about the quarterbacks and how good we would be to take them at 12. There were two that I really wanted... Mac Jones and Trey [Lance]. Those were the two guys that we were locked in on from the beginning."

While the Lance trade made sense in the moment — dual-threat quarterbacks were all the rage — it quickly soured. Lance dealt with injuries early and often. When he did get on the field, he looked overmatched, no doubt a result of minimal high-level experience compared to his draft peers.

Jones was in the Pro Bowl as a rookie and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Ja'Marr Chase. Can't really complain about that. The former Alabama star looked like the Patriots' franchise quarterback, but a fraying relationship with Belichick chipped away at his confidence and led him into choppier waters. In the end, Jones was expelled from New England last summer. He wound up in Jacksonville. And now, he's where he probably should have been all along.

Mac Jones won't get a better chance to salvage his career

It doesn't feel like Jones has what it takes to carve out a long, fruitful career in the NFL. At least, not as a starter. We don't need to lie. We shan't beat around the bush. But if ever there was a place for Jones to showcase his skill set in an optimal environment, and perhaps change a few opinions around the league, it's San Francisco.

Say what you will about Shanahan and his postseason résumé, but he is basically the origin point for every wiz-kid offensive coordinator who gets hired as a head coach. Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Ben Johnson — they're all riffing on Shanahan, whether it's explicit or not. The Niners still aren't fully healthy, but this is an offense capable of reaching lofty heights. And it's a far more effective scheme than what Jones was saddled with in Foxboro or Jacksonville.

Jones infamously threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) in his final season with the Patriots. He managed eight of each in seven starts with Jacksonville. Once known for his poise and precision at Alabama, Jones has become increasingly erratic in the NFL. We can blame Belichick's deliberate sabotage, or we can chalk it up to "NFL competition," which can always bring on new struggles for the ill-prepared. But somewhere, deep down, is the Mac Jones who completed 67.6 percent of his passes and threw for 22 touchdowns as a rookie.

We don't need to ratchet up expectations for Jones at this point in his career, but there's something poetic about ending up in Shanahan's offense after all this time. Now is probably his last, best chance to really make an impression as the Niners look to stay afloat without Mr. Irrelevant.