Chris Simms Believes There is Only One Way 49ers Can Trade Mac Jones

Mac Jones was one of the top performers on the San Francisco 49ers in 2026.

To win five games with him, a backup quarterback, is extraordinary and nothing short of impressive. Without his efforts, the season would've sunk for the 49ers.

Thanks to how solid he looked in his eight games played, he is now a prime candidate to be traded this offseason. Kyle Shanahan made it clear that the 49ers aren't into that idea at his exit press conference.

It's the right call to retain Jones. However, things change, and lies are told. All it takes is one strong offer for the 49ers to pivot. This will be an ongoing discussion until the NFL draft is over.

Should the 49ers trade Jones? Or should they keep him? During Super Bowl LX week, I asked Chris Simms of NBC Sports what the 49ers should do, and he sees only one way the 49ers can trade Jones.

Chris Simms sounds off on Mac Jones trade

There is only ONE way @CSimmsQB can see the 49ers trading Mac Jones when I asked him what they should do during Super Bowl week. ⬇️🧐 pic.twitter.com/boeL1Qyb66
— Jose Sanchez (@JS3Sanchezz) February 17, 2026

"You only trade him if you know you have a backup that is going to be able to be somewhat capable to play," Simms said. "The 49ers are a Super Bowl-caliber team. A lot of teams to me make mistakes with their backup quarterbacks to where their whole season got messed up because of that. So, why would you not have that insurance for your football team? We got all these great things, but if one guy gets hurt, we're gonna fall apart.

"And that's where I don't think they'll part ways with him very easily unless it's like we're blown out of the water by some trade. And even with that, Shanahan's too smart to just go, 'I'm gonna trade you just because I'm blown out of the water.' I got to protect my team. He's gonna have to have somebody he trusts that if Purdy gets hurt, he can come in and win two or three games."

Dec 14, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones (10) warms up prior to the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Simms knocks it out of the park with his answer. The 49ers will need to find an adequate replacement in line if they want to trade Jones.

Otherwise, they will end up with disastrous options again, as they had in 2024. They can't afford that. The odds are decent that Brock Purdy will miss games in 2026. That's his pattern.

Rather than worry about that, the 49ers can retain Jones for the season to keep their playoff hopes alive once again. Now, if the 49ers were offered a first-round pick for Jones, then they have to accept it.

That's the "out of the water" deal Simms is referring to. But that's highly unlikely. The best the 49ers will get is probably a second-round pick.

Anything less than that, the 49ers are better off keeping Jones.

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Chris Simms sounds off on Mac Jones trade

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