The San Francisco 49ers may have just committed to Brock Purdy for the long-term, but new acquisition Mac Jones is ready to go to battle for the starting quarterback role.The 2021 first-round pick penned a two-year, $7 million deal with the 49ers earlier this off-season, relishing the opportunity to work under coach Kyle Shanahan.Mac Jones is hoping to revive his career with the 49ersGettySan Francisco has become somewhat of a rehabilitation home for quarterbacks of late, having revitalised the careers of Jimmy Garroppolo – who led the 49ers all the way to a Super Bowl in 2020 – and Sam Darnold, who went on to thrive as the starter for the Minnesota Vikings under Kevin O’Connell in the 2024 season. With his new lease of life, Darnold will now take over the vacant QB1 slot for the Seattle Seahawks, and will also bring veteran experience that will aid the development of rookie Jalen Milroe who starred for Alabama.Jones will now be hoping for a similar outcome under Shanahan as he seeks to get his NFL career back on track after failed stints with the New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars.In June’s organized team activity, Jones fielded questions from the media about an array of things, including the areas in which he feels his new team can help him to become more consistent with his throwing and be confident in his ability to make a play.“My goal is to really just have great attempts like, you know, is the ball supposed to go there?” Jones said. “And if it is, then let it fly and be committed to it. Sometimes when you watch my film, it wasn’t a full commitment throw and I want to get better at that. “That’s the whole point of football is to try those throws, learn from them, and then when you get to the game you can say, ‘Hey, I can do this,’ or ‘I’m going to check this one down, you know, I’m trying to protect the ball.’ So, I’ve learned the hard way in a way.”It is easy to forget that the 49ers ended up trading up from No. 12 to the third overall pick in the 2021 Draft, sending multiple first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins.Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson had gone first and second overall, respectively, and the Niners’ move up initially appeared to signal that they would draft Jones over other QB’s in the draft class, including Justin Fields.However, they opted to select Trey Lance out of North Dakota State.After an injury-ridden tenure, though, Lance wound up playing just six games in two seasons in San Francisco before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023 for a mere fourth-round pick. Trey Lance was drafted by the 49ers over Jones, but lasted just two seasons before being tradedGettyJones has been taking multiple reps in the 49ers OTAsGettyJones, on the other hand, wound up sliding down to No. 15 overall to New England, but after three seasons, in which he had 46 touchdown passes and 36 interceptions, and a sharp decline in QBR in his second year (38.4) and third year (37.5), the organization made it clear that he was not to be their franchise quarterback for the long-term. After being traded to the Jaguars in 2024, Jones saw the field much more than he had likely anticipated due to an injury to starter, Lawrence. However, his struggles to connect with his receiving corps, often overthrowing his passes and leading to turnovers, proved detrimental to the team.In just 10 outings, including seven starts, the former Alabama star threw for just eight touchdowns – albeit at a 65.3 pass completion percentage – and also had eight interceptions, leading to a dismal 2-5 record. But a change of scenery under a strong group of coaching staff might just be the thing that Jones needs to rebuild his confidence as an NFL player.Finally in an organization that perhaps he felt he was going to be drafted to in the first place, Jones believes that this is the perfect environment for him to learn. Jones believes San Francisco is the best place for him to develop his gameGetty“The world works in mysterious ways,” Jones said. “I’m glad to be back here and learning from a great group of guys, and that’s players and coaches. So, you go where you go in the draft, right? You don’t get a lot of choice over that, but I’m definitely excited to be here now.”Despite his previous showings since he made the jump up from college to the NFL, the Niners, and offensive co-ordinator Klay Kubiak, has faith in their free agency acquisition to fulfil his potential under their guidance, and really develop into a starting-caliber quarterback.“He’s got a lot of traits that we like for a starting quarterback,” Kubiak said. “His career has kind of gone up and down a little bit the past couple years, but we saw the same things in Jacksonville that we loved about him as a college prospect, and that really excites us… I think Mac’s capable of being a starter in this league.”However, in order to become the starter, he would have to out-perform undisputed starter – and newly minted $265m man – Brock Purdy. The 2022 Draft’s ‘Mr Irrelevant’ exceeded anyone’s expectations – even that of his team – when he took over the starting job in the 2023 after a string of injuries to the quarterback room.In his first full season, Purdy led his team to a 12-4 record, throwing for 31 touchdowns on a 69.4 pass completion percentage, and had just 11 interceptions.‘Mr Irrelevant’ has been a revelation for the 49ers since 2022Getty Images - GettyPurdy and Jones will be competing with each other to be the 49ers starterGettyHe carried his good form into the postseason, and led the Niners to Super Bowl LVII, though they would go on to narrowly lose to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22. Despite a slight dip in his output in the 2024 season, the 49ers instilled their faith in Purdy to be their franchise quarterback, and signed him to a lucrative five-year, $265 million extension, of which $181 million is guaranteed.Though the deal itself drew some criticism from some around the league, those within the 49ers organization – both players and management – could not have been more delighted to secure his long-term future to the team.Six-time Pro Bowler George Kittle jumped to his quarterback’s defense when comments were made over him being somewhat of a ‘checkdown merchant’. Similarly, GM John Lynch stated when announcing Purdy’s extension, that they knew he had the ‘potential’ to be a successful QB in the NFL, but nobody could predict just how ‘special’ he would become. Purdy is undoubtedly the Niners’ starting quarterback, but now he has stiffer competition in the QB room with Jones now having entered the fold. This is a vast upgrade on last season, when Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs were the second and third-string quarterbacks, respectively, neither of whom are still on the team. Now, should Purdy for some reason be unable to play at any point during the season, there is a strong backup behind him that can be at the helm to mitigate the loss of their franchise star.With that in mind, Shanahan doesn’t want Jones to get in his head about mistakes he makes in practice or OTAs, and instead sees those as learning opportunities that will help him improve when it comes to seeing action on the field. “[If] you go through all these practices and you never throw a pick, you’re probably not getting better,” Shanahan said. “It’s hard when you get in that stadium and things like that. “Not only are you getting hit for the first time, but now all that stuff counts and if you don’t let it rip and go through all that in practice, you’re not going to get any better in the games and then it’s usually a matter of time before someone passes you up.”Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our NFL Facebook page, subscribe to our talkSPORT End Zone YouTube channel for all the offseason news, interviews and more