The San Francisco 49ers have a backup quarterback they are willing to move and a price nobody is going to pay.
Mac Jones remains one of the top trade candidates in the league, and the Atlanta Falcons are among the destinations being floated. Earlier this offseason, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reported the 49ers were asking for a second-round pick in exchange for Jones.
A Second-Round Pick for a Backup
That number is the whole problem. Second-round picks are the currency teams use to acquire starters, and Jones is not a starter on a good team.
What San Francisco is really selling is insurance with upside. Jones has functional NFL starting experience, he knows a modern offense, and he is a significant upgrade over the third-string body most teams are carrying. That has real value. It does not have second-round value.
The 49ers know this. Asking prices in September are opening bids, and a team with a quarterback it does not need has every reason to start high and let a desperate situation come to it.
Why Atlanta Keeps Coming Up
The Falcons connection is the interesting piece, mostly because of what it implies about how Atlanta feels about its own room.
Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport have both reported that the Falcons plan to hold onto Tua Tagovailoa. That is a public vote of confidence and also the kind of statement teams issue when the alternative narrative is gaining traction.
If Atlanta truly believed its quarterback situation was settled, it would not be attached to a veteran backup on the trade market in Week 3. Teams that feel good about the position do not shop for contingencies.
The Market Will Come to San Francisco
Quarterback trade markets do not get made in September. They get made the first time a starter goes down in October and a contending team suddenly has a seven-win roster and a practice squad quarterback.
That is when the 49ers get their best offer, and it is why they are in no rush to move off the second-round ask now. Injury creates leverage and San Francisco can afford to wait for it.
The risk in waiting is obvious. Jones himself is one injury away from being worth nothing, and a quarterback who never takes a snap accumulates no new value.
What a Fair Deal Looks Like
A fourth-round pick, or a fifth with conditions tied to games started. That is the honest range for a veteran backup with Jones’ profile and contract.
If San Francisco holds out for a two and gets nothing, it will have turned a tradable asset into a roster spot. If a desperate team overpays in November, the 49ers will look patient and smart.
Both outcomes are live. Right now the price is fiction and everybody involved knows it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.