Ideal Cardinals QB Trade Target Comes With 'Astronomical' Price

From NFL insider Dianna Russini:

"A few teams have called the San Francisco 49ers about QB Mac Jones, but many interested around the league describe their price as 'astronomical.'”

In a vacuum, Jones would be an ideal quarterback for where the Cardinals currently find themselves thanks to his age, contract and familiarity with what Arizona plans to do under head coach Mike LaFleur.

We covered this a bit more extensively a few weeks ago, but in a short run down:

Contract-wise Jones has one year left on his deal with a cap hit of $3 million for 2026, providing a low-risk option in terms of commitment and financials. If Arizona did like him, there's always the option to extend him.

Jones is also not even 28-years-old yet with at least seven starts in all five years of his career.

Fit-wise Jones spent the past season under Kyle Shanahan, who can now add LaFleur as a disciple of his vast coaching tree. LaFleur's extensive experience under Shanahan at multiple NFL stops will likely see him roll out similar concepts, which would make Jones an ideal fit for running the offense.

On paper, Jones would be an ideal quarterback to have in the desert regardless of Brissett/Minshew's presence or status.

Yet football isn't played on paper, and it feels like even if the Cardinals were truly interested on getting Jones, they'd have next to no shot.

The 49ers wouldn't be at all incentived to move off Jones, who proved to be extremely valuable in their eventual playoff run last year when filling in for Brock Purdy.

Hence the "astronomical" price tag which surely has to be hovering around a second or even a first-round pick.

Then, you sprinkle Arizona's projected in-division tax for being an NFC West rival, and it's a move that, unfortunately, won't be happening.

It's still unclear how the Cardinals move forward or if there's any moves left, though it's clear Jones won't be part of the puzzle despite being a perfect fit.