After failing to find a home with the New England Patriots or the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mac Jones became a certified sensation coming off the bench for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025, winning five of the eight games he started while throwing for 2,151 yards and 13 touchdowns versus just six interceptions over 11 games.
While teams will certainly come calling to see if Jones can supercharge their own offenses this summer, a good situation for the 49ers, considering he's still under contract for 2026, thus far, San Francisco has appeared unwilling to ship the former first round pick away to a new team, as his value as a reserve remains very high for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
And yet, what happens if a team like the Minnesota Vikings brings a godfather offer with multiple premium picks for Jones' services? Would John Lynch hang up the phone or seriously consider it? In the opinion of ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Vikings might not be able to afford let that opportunity slip away.
“Vikings get: QB Mac Jones, 2027 third-round pick. 49ers get: 2026 second-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick (conditional), 2028 third-round pick (conditional),” Schefter wrote.
“The Vikings can't afford to leave J.J. McCarthy an uncontested path to their starting quarterback job again in 2026. He was a disaster for most of the season, and though he put together a better stretch to end 2025, that four-game run came against the Commanders(who were 30th in EPA per play against pass dropbacks), Cowboys (31st), Giants (17th, in a game where McCarthy threw 14 passes) and Packers (21st, McCarthy was facing second- and third-stringers for most of the game).”
Famously moving off of Sam Darnold after his MVP-caliber season was derailed in the playoffs, the Vikings went from certified Super Bowl contenders to one of the NFL's biggest disappointments in 2025. If Kevin O'Connell can get his hands on Jones, it might just be enough to get the Vikings back on track, which, in turn, could justify the kind of offer Schefter suggested. The only question left is, would the 49ers be willing to accept it?
