There is no doubting that Brock Purdy is the San Francisco 49ers’ franchise quarterback. But while he continues to recover from a foot injury sustained in the 49ers‘ 2025 NFL season opener, the onus has been on former first-round draft pick Mac Jones to man the fort in Purdy’s absence.Purdy has featured just twice for the 49ers in 2025GettyKendrick Bourne dishes all on his return to the 49ers after four seasons awayGettyThe Niners sit at 6-3, 14th in talkSPORT’s Super Bowl contender rankings, and that is despite their injury-laden roster struggling with multiple core guys ruled out at one point or another.Wide-receiver Kendrick Bourne spoke exclusively to talkSPORT about the ‘healthy competition’ between the two quarterbacks as Jones has excelled in his role as deputy.“Him and Mac’s relationship is great. And it’s just healthy competition,” Bourne told talkSPORT’s Will Gavin. “We know Brock’s the guy, Mac knows Brock’s the guy and we’re supporting him, but that helps Mac, so it just helps the team. Leaders on and off the field“Guys like Fred and George – they become who they’re supposed to become because they follow and do the right thing.“It’s just been great to see man. These guys are literally superstars and Fred, just who he is and how he operates, the speeches he was giving before the games before he went out was just phenomenal.”Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco 49ers“Brock does a good job of understanding that. Mac does, I do. And I think a lot of the players do…So just carrying that workload while our guys are trying to heal, it’s important. “Shout out to the front office. They brought in people. We got depth on the team and that’s the key so when your starters may go down, you don’t want to have a drop off from your second string. “That’s where me and Mac have helped the team and that’s our job. That’s our role and we’re excelling in that role.”Having spent the first four years of his career in San Francisco, the wide receiver departed for the New England Patriots for another four years, where Jones was his quarterback for three seasons.But after realizing that ‘sometimes it’s not greener on the other side’ and given the opportunity to return to the Bay Area where he felt he ‘always belonged’, Bourne admitted that coming back has been very ‘heartwarming’.Band of brothers has 49ers powering through adversity to great effectBourne (L) and Jones’ (R) on-field chemistry has been a huge boost to the 49ers offense, with the two having spent three years together with the PatriotsGettyWarner, out for the year with an ankle injury, is a hugely integral member of the 49ers defense and leadership groupGettyThe 30-year-old veteran’s return to the Niners, though, came about as a result of the team’s injury crisis on offense after star tight end George Kittle was placed on injured reserve in Week 2 of the 2025 season. But the injuries to star players continued to mount, with some huge names lost for the season in defensive stars Nick Bosa – the third-higest paid non quarterback in NFL history – and Fred Warner. Bourne, however, credits the likes of Kittle and Warner for their leadership and presence around the Niners facility, where even though they’ve been sidelined, they have continued to instill the band of brothers mentality that the team has. “You can feel his presence and even the speech he gave us the game that he got hurt. He just poured into us and you can feel man how powerful he is. “So to be missing him is tough, but his presence has still been around, man. Just been around the building. Just seeing him and stuff like that has been dope, but his development and who he is now is kudos to him and how he does things.”Kittle missed five games of the season with an injury sustained in the 49ers season opener, but returned in Week 7GettyChristian McCaffrey has been the 49ers’ star this season amid their injury woesGettyBourne has even been left inspired by Purdy, who went from being ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ to signing a five-year, $265 million extension in the off-season, and his leadership off the field as he continues to deal with a turf toe injury sustained in Week 1. “Even Brock, who is going through the struggles, his presence here and me meeting him, our relationship has grown,” Bourne said. “He’s been on the side so far, but just who he is and how he carries his adversity, I just respect it and love it so much.”The 49ers have been forced to battle adversity for virtually the entire season, yet they find themselves in a position in which they are three games above .500 entering Week 10.CMC has been the 49ers’ X-factorWhilst Jones and Bourne have each performed well in the absence of their teammates, with the duo’s chemistry on full display in the 49ers’ 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.They combined for 142 yards from 10 receptions, the biggest catalyst for the Niners’ success has been Christian McCaffrey.After an injury-laden season himself in 2024, which saw him suit up on just four occasions, ‘one of one’ CMC returned in 2025 with a vengeance.14. San Francisco 49ersMac Jones has been perfect for the 49ers while they keep waiting for Brock Purdy to return.talkSPORT’s ranking of the Super Bowl contenders – from the most, to the least, likely to lift the LombardiIn nine outings thus far, the All-Pro running back ranks ninth in the league in rushing yards with 596 and four touchdowns, whilst he also has 626 receiving yards — the seventh-most in the entire NFL — for another four scores. Having never played with McCaffrey until this season, Bourne opened up about his superstar teammate who was in the same draft class as him.“He’s just been great. He’s the type of guy you really want to block for,” Bourne. “If you give him just a little bit of extra room, it’s so motivating to block for somebody like that. Bourne credits the entire offense for their roles in allowing CMC to do his thing on the gridironGetty“He always tells me ‘you just need to get in front of him. You don’t have to make a huge crack block, just just get in his way and I’ll do the rest’. It’s just been dope to play with someone like that that has passion.“He’s a walking legend. It just brings the best out of all of us around him because we know what we have. So if I can take a tackle off of him, we [the team] take pride in it. I don’t want anybody to touch him because we know how valuable he is to us. “Obviously what he went through last year, he’s definitely a comeback player to me, and so just hearing his story and learning them, building my relationship with him, we’ve been connected. …It’s really special. The film speaks for itself, the type of stuff he does, it’s crazy.“He’s literally the full package and he’s not the biggest guy. And that’s what’s so special about him.”Amid all their injury woes in 2025, watching San Francisco play to their strengths as they have dug deep into their roster has sent a message league-wide that they are very much fighting to make a Super Bowl on home turf at Levi’s Stadium in February.Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more.