49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said last month that he would be “very surprised” if Mac Jones is not with the team for the 2026 season, but the 49ers aren’t going to be rejecting calls from other teams about the quarterback.
Jones showed he’s capable of being a starter while Brock Purdy was out of action with a toe injury in 2025 and that could make him a trade target for other teams who aren’t as well stocked at the position as the Niners. On Tuesday, General Manager John Lynch said that any of those teams will have to put together a compelling package in order for the 49ers to think about moving their backup.
“He’s really good for us and we value that,” Lynch said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “And so somebody would have to come with something fairly strong for us to consider. And then I don’t know what we do. Obviously there’s always something that would make you [do it], but I think we’re a better team with him on it and we just like having him around.”
Jones said this month that he believes he’s “proven” his ability to be a starter, but he’ll need an opportunity as well and it’s not a sure thing that one of them will materialize this offseason.
49ers Clips
One of the hot topics on Tuesday at the Scouting Combine was the future of Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. And while the Eagles are saying all the right things regarding Brown’s future in Philly, odds as to his next team have emerged.
At DraftKings, the current favorites are the Eagles, at -130.
Next on the list is the Patriots, at +275. The Chargers land at +750, with the Bills at +900.
A return to the Titans is a +1000 bet. The Raiders are +1400, with the 49ers, Dolphins, and Ravens at +1600.
Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman made it clear that they’ll listen to any team that makes any offers about Brown or any other player. The question is whether another team will make the Eagles an offer they won’t refuse.
Former Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has found a new job.
49ers General Manager John Lynch said at a Tuesday press conference that Adofo-Mensah is joining the team as a personnel executive. The Vikings fired Adofo-Mensah in January after four seasons with the team.
This is Adofo-Mensah’s second time working for the 49ers. He was their manager of football research and development from 2013-2016 and the director of football research and development from 2017-2019. Adofo-Mensah worked under Lynch in the latter position.
Adofo-Mensah spent two years as the Browns’ vice president of football operations before landing the GM job in Minnesota.
49ers General Manager John Lynch addressed where things stand with left tackle Trent Williams shortly after a Tuesday report that the team is struggling to come to an agreement on a new deal with the veteran.
Williams is set to have a cap number of $38.841 million in the final year of his deal and the 49ers would like to redo his contract in order to make that number easier to swallow. Per the report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, Williams could be released if the standoff over the contract cannot be resolved.
Lynch provided a rosier outlook on where things currently stand. He said that there have been “really good, productive, and substantive meetings” with Williams and his agent about the contract and expressed optimism that a solution to keeping Williams on the team will be found.
“Here’s what I know: Trent loves being a Niner,” Lynch said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “We love having Trent as a Niner. And it’s up to us to figure that out, and to thread that needle. There’s some unique circumstances in that we all know what Trent is as a player, how great of a player he’s been. He’s gonna be 38 years old, and so, there’s some things that go into that, but I think we’re all on the same page, and I feel very positive about where that’s going.”
Lynch’s positivity about where things are headed was not joined by any word about how far things might be from the finish line and they’ll need to make their way to that point fairly quickly to ensure that Williams remains on the team for another season.
The 49ers and tackle Trent Williams are in a sudden stare down.
Williams, 37, enter the final year of his contract, with $32 million in non-guaranteed base pay and a cap number of $38.841 million. Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the player and the team are “struggling” to find a solution.
Absent a revised agreement, Williams could be released.
The 49ers owe Williams $10 million on April 1. If they’re willing to carry his cap number through March, they could attempt to trade him.
After the 2025 season, Williams declared that he’ll be back with the 49ers in 2026. Now, it’s hardly a given.
Former Broncos general manager Neal Dahlen has died, the team announced. He was 85.
Dahlen has seven Super Bowl rings, which is tied with Tom Brady for the second-most in history behind only Bill Belichick. He held the record alone for the most Super Bowl titles for an individual until Belichick and the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in 2017.
Dahlen worked for the 49ers from 1979-96, winning five Super Bowls. He served as the Broncos’ director of player personnel during their first two Super Bowl titles.
He was with the Broncos from 1996-2003, holding the General Manager title from 1999-2001, and he finished his career as the Broncos’ director of football administration.
His teams were 7-0 in Super Bowls.
“I attribute my good fortune to three key elements: Joe Montana, Steve Young and John Elway,” Dahlen told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times in 2018.
Dahlen, a California native, was a collegiate quarterback and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from San Jose State.
The 49ers are keeping one of their impending free agents from hitting the open market.
The team announced that they have signed offensive lineman Nick Zakelj to a new deal. It is a one-year extension with no other terms announced.
Zakelj was a 2022 sixth-round pick out of Fordham. He appeared in nine games in his first two seasons before landing on injured reserve with a torn biceps and then played in all 17 games during the 2024 season. Zakelj was on the practice squad in 2025, but was elevated to appear in three games.
The 49ers have Spencer Burford, Ben Bartsch and Matt Hennessy on track for free agency on their offensive line.
The 49ers will be leaving the country for two of their 17 games during the 2026 regular season.
The team announced on Wednesday that they will be the designated home team for a game in Mexico City this fall. The date and opponent for the game at Estadio Banorte have not been announced at this point.
Mexico has not hosted an NFL game since the 2022 season. The 49ers beat the Cardinals 38-10 in that game and the same two teams also took part in the NFL’s first-ever Mexico City game during the 2005 season.
The announcement comes after the NFL announced that the 49ers will be facing the Rams in the league’s first Australian game. The trips to Melbourne and Mexico City join road games in Atlanta and New Jersey for what will be a well-traveled 49ers team this year.
The 49ers are hiring veteran defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports.
Gray was assistant head coach/defense for Atlanta for the past three years.
It is unclear what his role will be with the 49ers, but he reunites with Raheem Morris. Morris, the former head coach of the Falcons, is now the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
Gray was a four-time Pro Bowl defensive back in nine seasons as a player, including seven years with the Rams. He began his coaching career immediately after his playing career.
He has nearly 30 years of NFL coaching experience, working at Tennessee, Buffalo, Washington Seattle, Minnesota, Green Bay and Atlanta. Gray was defensive coordinator with the Titans (2011-13) and Bills (2001-05).
The Seahawks have found a new offensive coordinator who is likely to keep the same scheme.
According to multiple reports, Seattle is hiring San Francisco tight ends coach Brian Fleury for the role.
Fleury had been with the 49ers since 2019, beginning his time with the club as a defensive quality control coach. He moved over to offense in 2020, serving a quality control coach for the unit before being promoted to tight ends coach in 2022.
San Francisco added run game coordinator to his title in 2025.
Fleury is replacing Klint Kubiak, who was hired as Raiders head coach after Super Bowl LX. Kubiak previously served as San Francisco’s passing game coordinator in 2023, working alongside Fleury and head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Fleury also has at least some level of familiarity with quarterback Sam Darnold, who spent the 2023 season as the 49ers’ backup quarterback.
