Teams interested in trading for 49ers QB Mac Jones get bad news

San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Mac Jones recently made it known he believes he is "a starter in this league." Jones inked an inexpensive two-year deal with the 49ers last offseason, meaning an interested club would have to trade for his services this spring or summer. 

It sounds like the 49ers aren't looking to complete such a transaction. 

Kyle Shanahan not eager to lose Mac Jones

"You always listen to people with trade offers, but we’re also not into getting rid of good players," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said while speaking with reporters on Wednesday, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic. "So I’d be very surprised if Mac wasn’t around us next year." 

49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy previously credited Jones for helping San Francisco save its 2025 season. Jones played like a legitimate starter as he went 5-3 across eight starts when Purdy was out of action with a toe issue. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets are among the teams that have been linked with Jones. In his latest mailbag, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned that the Minnesota Vikings could be a realistic landing spot for Jones. 

The Vikings seemingly aren't committed to second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy automatically being their 2026 Week 1 starter after McCarthy dealt with numerous physical issues and played poorly across stretches of this season. 

Why the 49ers want to keep Mac Jones

"You always listen, but I know we’re a better football team with Mac Jones on our roster," 49ers general manager John Lynch said on Wednesday. 

Such comments could understandably lead one to believe that Lynch simply wants to bolster Jones' value on the market before the new league year opens in March. That ultimately may prove to be the case, but it sounds like Lynch is serious about wanting to hold onto Jones for the foreseeable future. 

"Mac made this place better," Lynch added. "He was outstanding this season. He picked us up in a huge way. When we needed him…he went in there and won us a lot of football games, and he kept us in this thing."