49ers GM addresses potential Mac Jones, Brock Purdy tension amid QB controversy whispers

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch hinted during a Thursday appearance on San Francisco Bay Area sports radio station KNBR that quarterback Mac Jones will start over the banged-up Brock Purdy when 4-1 San Francisco plays at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-1) on Sunday.

Lynch also addressed whether Jones' solid play amid Purdy's absences is sparking tension in the team's quarterback room this fall. 

Brock Purdy is "happy" Mac Jones is leading 49ers to wins

"I do wholeheartedly believe that Brock is nothing but happy for our team," Lynch explained, according to Dan Dempster of NBC Sports Bay Area. "He’s working his tail off to try to get back." 

Purdy missed Weeks 2, 3 and 5 of the season because of a toe injury that he reaggravated in Week 4. Meanwhile, Jones has gone 3-0 as San Francisco's starter, generating some interesting conversations regarding the club's quarterback situation. 

Earlier in the week, well-known analyst and NFL Network personality Brian Baldinger said he would stick with "the hot hand" if Jones picks up a victory at Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium.

Brock Purdy is "self-assured" amid absences 

"A cool quality about Brock Purdy is he’s one of the most self-assured people in a very humble way," Lynch noted. "It's hard to explain, but I think it’s one of the things that appealed to us." 

Purdy has millions of reasons to feel good about where he'll be on the depth chart when he's cleared to return to action. Specifically, he signed a five-year, $265M contract extension that included $181M in guarantees and a no-trade clause this past spring. 

Multiple reports have suggested the 49ers have no intentions of sitting a healthy Purdy in favor of Jones. That said, such comments are easy to make when San Francisco's Week 1 QB1 is unavailable. 

"I think we all feel blessed and fortunate that we found a guy to be our backup this year who can go in and play like a starter and earn us tough, hard-fought wins," Lynch said about Jones. "Mac’s doing a tremendous job. It’s been fun."

It remains to be seen how Lynch and Co. will react if Jones guides the 49ers to a "fun" win over the Buccaneers. As of Friday morning, ESPN BET had San Francisco as a 3.5-point underdog for that matchup.