San Francisco 49ers deny quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones have fallen out

Mac Jones is continuing to make a case for himself as he deputizes for Brock Purdy as the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback, but general manager John Lynch has insisted there is no tension between the pair.

With Purdy struggling with toe and shoulder issues, Jones has come in and led the team to three wins with some eye-catching performances in the process.

It has inevitably led to some tentative speculation that Purdy's role as the starter could be under threat, especially with Jones getting a fourth chance to show what he can do in Sunday's game against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But GM Lynch has denied there are any issues between the pair as Purdy fights to get healthy enough to return to the field.

'I do wholeheartedly believe that Brock is nothing but happy for our team,' Lynch told reporters.

'A cool quality about Brock Purdy is he’s one of the most self-assured people in a very humble way. He’s just very confident in his abilities, but he’s just a good guy. He’s got an incredible amount of humility.

'He's working his tail off to try to get back and I think we all feel blessed and fortunate that we found a guy to be our backup this year who can go in and play like a starter and earn us tough, hard-fought wins.'

Lynch reserved some praise for Jones, too, and praised the quarterback for rediscovering the flair that made him a No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

'Mac’s doing a tremendous job. It’s been fun,' Lynch added. 'We’ve talked about the process he’s gone through and you could see throughout the offseason, through training camp, the confidence built, and some of those innate abilities that we saw way back in college come to the forefront, and it’s cool to see that happen on a big stage.'

The 49ers don't know for certain yet when Purdy will be back for the team. After signing a new five-year, $265million contract with the organization back in March, he has only been able to play in two games so far in the 2025 campaign.

Jones, 27, is also playing through the pain barrier for the 49ers and was even listed as questionable for Sunday's Bucs game with a knee issue. But there is not expected to be any real concern over his availability come gametime.

Jones, for his part, has insisted he is happy backing Purdy up. After leading the team to a win over the LA Rams last week, Jones said: 'They brought me here to play as a backup, and that's my job.

'Brock's the starter of this team, and right now he's dealing with something. For him to go out there last week and play when you know he probably wasn't at full health, he cares about this team. 

'I'm just trying to get some wins for him so it helps us down the line,'

Despite their quarterack issues, the 49ers lead the NFC West with a 4-1 record.