The brutal reality of the NFL is that out of the 32 quarterbacks trotted out as starters for opening day in 2026, not all of them will make it to the finish line.
As we saw in the 2023 season opener with the New York Jets, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in the 1st game, there’s even a scenario where some don’t even make it past the 1st series.
If you’re a contender and your quarterback goes down in 2026, and you don’t have faith in your backup, Bleacher Report’s James Palmer predicts there’s 1 team that’s going to get the 1st call, and that’s the San Francisco 49ers, where teams with injured quarterbacks might be willing to bend over backwards to get their backup in former 1st-round pick Mac Jones.
“If a starting quarterback goes down, you would have to believe that their 1st call is to the San Francisco 49ers for Mac Jones,” Palmer said on July 2. “You would have to think that would be the 1st call that they make. This is a guy who played very well in the most popular (offensive system) used around the NFL, which is the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan system. And he operated very well when Brock Purdy was out. He’s cheap. He signed a roughly 2-year, $8 million deal before last season, so he’s on the books for just about $4.6 million this year. Now the 49ers won’t give him away, but if a team is forced to make that trade, they might even overpay for Mac Jones.”
Jones Primed for Another Starting Opportunity
Whatever happens with Jones this season — trade or not — he seems well set up to get an opportunity to be a starting quarterback again in 2027 after spending the last 2 seasons as 1 of the NFL’s most capable backups.
Selected by the New England Patriots with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Jones was New England’s starter for the end of the Bill Belichick era and even earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie before flaming out in 2023.
Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he spent 2024 as a backup to Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, and went 2-5 in 7 starts after Lawrence was injured.
In 2025, Jones was once again forced into action after Purdy was injured and looked great. Jones kept San Francisco’s season afloat by going 5-3 in 8 starts while throwing for 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions and completing 69.6 percent of his passes.
Mac Jones Part of Infamous 2021 QB Draft Class
The 5 quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2021 draft class could end up being one of the historically bad groups of picks at the position in NFL history.
Only Lawrence remains with the team that drafted him after signing a 5-year, $275 million contract extension in June 2024. He looked like one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks in 2024 before bouncing back to lead the Jaguars to the AFC South Division title in 2025.
Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick, was traded to the Broncos after 3 seasons with the New York Jets. He’s on his 4th team in 6 seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys after 2 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He’s headed into his 2nd season as a backup on the Los Angeles Chargers.
Justin Fields, the No. 10 overall pick, was traded from the Chicago Bears to the Pittsburgh Steelers after 3 seasons and replaced with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in Chicago. Fields is on his 3rd team in 6 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026.
49ers Predicted as ‘First Call’ in Quarterback Trade