Mac Jones reveals message from 49ers veteran that helped him

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Mac Jones reveals four-word message from 49ers veteran that helped him

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 7:17 PM ET

Mac Jones made his first start as a member of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and he says a message from one of his veteran teammates helped him overcome some early adversity.

Jones led the 49ers to a 26-21 road win over the New Orleans Saints, and he did so while playing arguably the best game of his career. The former first-round pick completed 26-of-39 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Jones did not start out great, however. He threw three straight incompletions on San Francisco's opening drive, which is when veteran offensive lineman Trent Williams had some words of encouragement for his quarterback.

Williams told Jones to "just go hoop, dude."

Mac Jones was a little shaky to start, but said Trent Williams came over and told him, “Just go hoop, dude.” And he settled down from that point on, he said.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 14, 2025

Mac Jones has had a rocky start to his career

The New England Patriots drafted Jones with the 15th overall pick in 2021, and he showed promise early on. Jones made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after throwing for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions, but it was all downhill from there.

After his impressive rookie campaign, Jones had 24 touchdown passes compared to 23 interceptions over his next 25 games in New England. He was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the 2024 season.

Jones had 1,672 passing yards, eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions with the Jaguars last season while filling in for an injured Trevor Lawrence.

The 49ers may need Jones for multiple games

Brock Purdy was sidelined on Sunday with a toe injury he suffered in the 49ers' Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks. There have been reports that he could miss more than a month, though it sounds like the Niners are optimistic he will return sooner.

The 49ers will host the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday and then the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4. Now that they are 2-0 and Jones looks comfortable running their offense, they will probably feel less pressure to rush Purdy back into the starting lineup.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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