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The San Francisco 49ers will go at least one more game with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback. Jones will make his seventh start of the season when the 49ers play the New York Giants on Sunday, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday. But for the first time, Brock Purdy could be the backup quarterback. Purdy became the 49ers’ No. 1 quarterback during his rookie season in 2022 and took San Francisco all the way to the NFC Championship Game. The next season, Purdy and the 49ers played in Super Bowl LVIII. This season, Purdy has played in only two games because of a toe injury. This week, Purdy had three days of practice as a limited participant, but instead of being listed as out on the San Francisco injury report on Friday evening, Purdy carried a questionable designation. Purdy went all the way under center in the 49ers’ season-opening 17-13 over the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7 before the toe injury sidelined him. Purdy returned in Game 4 and again took all the offensive snaps. But Purdy hasn’t played since that 26-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 28. Shanahan said the 49ers aren’t making the same mistake again with their No. 1 quarterback with his toe not yet 100 percent healed. “As soon as he had a chance to get through practice and stuff the first time, we let him get all those starter reps (at practice), and it was great,” Shanahan said. “And then there was a chance he could get rehurt in the game, and he did, and he’s been out for the last month. “He got more reps this week (in practice than last week), but we aren’t going to commit to all of that like we did last time, so I think it’s easing him back more than last time.” FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE In 2017, Jones had Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa in front of him on the Alabama depth chart. The Crimson Tide had a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach that season, and Brian Daboll is now the Giants’ head coach. “He was the best,” Jones said. “I think we spent a lot of time together. I was third-string and a freshman, and he was installing a new offense, so I didn’t really know much, so he was trying to see if I could learn the offense that he wanted to install. “And he did just such a good job of, like, innovating for the player that was in. So like when Jalen played, he had quarterback runs and things like that. And then when Tua played, he had a lot of RPO’s and over-the-middle passing. So I learned as a young player, like, how good he was at building his plan for the offense at the time and learned a lot about coverages and footwork and all that stuff. So we, obviously, still talk and stuff, and he’s a great coach and got a lot of respect for him.” Jones has faced Daboll and the Giants once previously, and it marked the end of his career with the New England Patriots. A first-round draft pick after leading Alabama through an undefeated season to win the 2020 CFP national championship, Jones joined the Patriots in the first round of the NFL Draft, quarterbacked a playoff team and went to the Pro Bowl in 2021. But by 2023, New England was 2-8 when it took on New York on Nov. 26. After Jones completed 12-of-21 passes for 89 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, he was pulled for Bailey Zappe, and he never played for the Patriots again. Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones started seven games last season as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. The 49ers signed Jones in the offseason to serve as Purdy’s backup. The Jaguars went 2-5 in Jones’ starts. The 49ers are 4-2 with Jones at the helm and have a 5-3 overall mark. In Jones’ final season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide had an average margin of victory of 29.1 points per game. In his six starts for San Francisco this season, the 49ers have been outscored by three points. “I realized that winning in the NFL is so hard,” Jones said, “and it’s not like college when you’re going to win by like 40, 50 points or whatever. Every game typically comes down to the last quarter or a couple drives, so we’ve been in that position, like I talked about earlier. And that’s my goal as a quarterback is be ready in those moments because Quarters 1 through 3 are obviously important, but really the fourth quarter is where it’s all won. So that’s the NFL. I’ve learned that. I’ve watched it, studied it. “So I’m really just glad where we’re at, but also you can’t be complacent at all. This is a big week for us. It’s one of those, you look at your record, you win and you’re in a good spot, and you lose and you’re not in as good of a spot. So we know that. You’re trying to win every week, so definitely feel like we can do it and got to go out there and execute.” The 49ers’ two losses with Jones at quarterback came in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. The 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 12 started at 4:25 p.m. EDT, a normal kickoff time in San Francisco at 1:25 p.m. PDT. The 26-15 loss to the Houston Texans on Oct. 26 started at noon CDT – 10 a.m. on the West Coast. “It’s obviously my first experience this year doing that,” Jones said. “And just talking to people and we have different things that we use, and I feel like really you just got to get the right amount of sleep for your time slot and get up and get ready to play. It’s not like you can’t overthink it or underthink it, but at the end of the day, you get your nine, 10, 11 hours of sleep, and then, obviously, you travel early. And I try not to get adjusted to the time. Might just stay on my own clock here. “But, yeah, it’s a challenge, and I think every team has to deal with it whether you’re going east to west or west to east. So, definitely want to be ready to play.” Jones added after that response: “Usually, I sleep a lot.” More stories on the NFL Former Auburn lineman becomes the General of the Green Bay defense Will Bryce Young return to the Carolina Panthers’ lineup on Sunday? Tua Tagovailoa on Miami’s loss: ‘You wish you could have done more’ The 49ers and Giants will kick off at noon CST Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York has a 2-6 record.
