As of Friday morning, the Arizona Cardinals were uncertain whether they’d be facing Brock Purdy or Mac Jones at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s game.
Nevertheless, Cardinals veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell may have given Jones some bulletin board material while speaking about the 49ers on NFL Network on Thursday.
Calais Campbell makes Brock Purdy vs. Mac Jones pick
“Do you want a truthful answer? The truthful answer is I’d much rather play against Mac Jones,” Campbell responded when asked if he would prefer to play against either of the two signal-callers, per Sports Illustrated’s Tom Dierberger. “…It’s not a shot because Mac is a first-round talent, and he can do all the things. He just hasn’t been in that offense for a long time, so he just is still going through it. But with Brock, he’s a master of that offense. He can make it go.”
Purdy has played under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan since San Francisco made him the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. In the 49ers’ 17-13 Week 1 win at the Seattle Seahawks, Purdy injured his left shoulder and toe but completed 26-of-35 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Meanwhile, Jones signed with the 49ers as a free agent in March and got the nod for San Francisco’s Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints with Purdy sidelined. Jones completed 26-of-39 pass attempts for 279 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 26-21 victory over the Saints to help improve the 49ers to 2-0 on the season.
Would facing Mac Jones give Cardinals an advantage?
“I’m willing to play whoever they put in front of me,” Campbell added. “We’re going to earn it. But I think we have a little bit of an advantage with a quarterback who hasn’t been there as long in the offense.”