Tampa Bay’s quarterback problem just got louder. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 0-4 in Week 4 and started Jalon Daniels against the Green Bay Packers, Alex Kay floated San Francisco 49ers backup Mac Jones as a trade answer that could help steady the season.
The timing is what makes the discussion travel fast. Baker Mayfield’s thumb injury in Week 3 forced Tampa Bay to turn to a rookie, and the result was a 19-of-27 outing with one touchdown and two interceptions for Daniels. In that kind of spot, any experienced backup starts to look less like a luxury and more like a repair job before Week 5.
Kay’s pitch was not small. He said Tampa Bay should call San Francisco and ask what it would take to get Jones, framing the move as a way to “save their season.” His proposal had the Buccaneers giving up a conditional 2027 third-round pick, a choice that would likely climb to a second-round pick if Jones reached a set number of starts or started a playoff game.
That detail matters because the price being discussed is already steep enough to stop the conversation. The 49ers have reportedly told teams they want a second-round pick for Jones, which means Tampa Bay would have to decide whether a more modest offer is realistic at all. A club that is already 0-4 cannot spend draft capital casually, especially when the upgrade is meant to solve a short-term problem rather than reshape the roster.
Jones has the résumé that makes the idea tempting. The New England Patriots selected him with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and Kay pointed to the stretch in which Jones stepped in for Brock Purdy and helped San Francisco win five times in eight starts. Kristopher Knox had already put Jones at No. 1 on his list of potential NFL trade candidates headed into Week 3, noting his 5-3 starting record in 2025, along with 2,151 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
That is the tension inside the rumor. Jones looks like the kind of insurance policy a desperate team would want, but he is also said to be on a path to 2027 free agency, which gives San Francisco leverage and gives Tampa Bay a reason to hesitate. Kay argued that if Jones could string together a handful of wins while Mayfield is sidelined, the Buccaneers would still have a shot in what looks like a wide-open NFC South race. The next step is simple to describe and hard to execute: Tampa Bay has to decide whether the cost of chasing Jones is worth paying before the season slips further away.
