49ers Trade Rumors Reveal 'Astronomical' Mac Jones Asking Price amid 2026 NFL Free Agency

The San Francisco 49ers reportedly have an "astronomical" asking price for teams inquiring about backup quarterback Mac Jones in a potential trade, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

The 27-year-old Jones started eight games for injured starter Brock Purdy last season and completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,151 yards (7.4 yards per attempt), 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. San Francisco went 5-3 in his starts en route to a 12-5 season and a playoff appearance.

Jones' career began with the New England Patriots after they selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. He started out hot and finished second in the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year race during his rookie season while earning Pro Bowl honors.

However, Jones regressed for the remainder of his Patriot days and was even benched four times in 2023 en route to losing his starting job. He was eventually traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2024 offseason.

In fairness to Jones, he never had the same offensive coordinator for more than one season and didn't have one in 2022, when Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who primarily had defensive and special teams backgrounds, respectively, ran the show. The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan and Karen Guregian called 2022 the "most dysfunction season" under long-term head coach Bill Belichick (now UNC's leader) at the time.

Jones got a chance to play in Jacksonville with Lawrence dealing with an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder that ended his season. Jones completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,672 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He's been thriving in San Francisco ever since under head coach Kyle Shanahan after signing a two-year, $7 million contract. It's understandable that the 49ers would want a lot in return, simply because (a) Jones just fared very well and (b) he's incredibly valuable to the team as an insurance policy for Purdy on a bargain of a contract.

At this juncture, it's hard seeing any team making a move for Jones given the asking price, so the guess is he sticks around one more year and looks for a new home in free agency in 2027, when he could get a nice deal and perhaps become a QB1 again.