San Francisco 49ers: Could Nick Mullens compete for the backup QB job?

The San Francisco 49ers will close out the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers tomorrow night at Levis Stadium.

During yesterday’s press conference, head coach, Kyle Shanahan announced that many of the San Francisco 49ers‘ starters would not play on Thursday.

Shanahan did not include a full list of inactive players, but he did share that C.J. Beathard will get the start at quarterback and that if any starters do play, they won’t see much time on the field.

Resting the starters isn’t surprising at all, considering the team’s main priority is to get prepared for their week one matchup on the road against Minnesota.

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With Beathard getting the nod over Jimmy Garoppolo, that means we should see a lot of playing time for perhaps the offensive team MVP of the preseason, Nick Mullens.

Nick Mullens is in his second year out of Southern Mississippi and has gotten his fair share of run this preseason. Over the first three preseason games, Mullens has an 80 percent completion percentage (21-26) and leads the 49ers with an 86.4 QB rating.

Mullens has really made an impression on 49er fans with his end of game heroics, leading two scoring drives in the final two minutes against the Cowboys and the Texans.

While Mullens is far from perfect (he has thrown a team-high three interceptions), he’s provided entertainment for fans during the end of preseason games, bringing up whispers of conversations of a backup quarterback competition.

Current backup, C.J. Beathard started five games for the 49ers last season before Jimmy G took over to finish the season. It was with Beathard under center that the 49ers got their first win of the season in week ten against the Giants.

As a starter, Beathard finished with six total touchdowns (three rushing and three passing) to go along with five interceptions. He averaged 238 yards through the air in six games and finished the season with a 69.2 QB rating.

Before the Jimmy Garoppolo trade, Beathard was hand-picked by Shanahan out of the 2017 draft to succeed Brian Hoyer. In his limited playing time, Beathard displayed a tremendous amount of toughness and grit. So his job as a backup was never really in question during the preseason.

That was until Nick Mullens outperformed him during the preseason. The speculation that Mullens could challenge Beathard for the backup spot on the depth chart came after a few things.

Beathard got banged up with a foot injury during the game against the Texans and missed practice the week leading up to their game against the Colts. But also, it was the second consecutive week that Mullens led the third team offense to a scoring drive in the final minutes of a game.

So while there may have never been a true backup competition, Niner fans entertained the idea of Mullens taking over Beathard’s roster spot in the wake of sheer entertainment.

Mullens has displayed good accuracy in his four games played during the preseason. During last year’s preseason, Mullens only played in the final game against the Chargers and completed 70 percent of his passes, but had two turnovers.

Mullens could certainly continue to prove to be a valuable commodity on the 49ers’ practice squad, but ultimately Beathard’s familiarity with the offense is irreplaceable.

So for the time being, Beathard shouldn’t have anything to worry about. He showed last year that he’s a viable backup quarterback in this league and barring any injury, should continue to be the 49ers’ backup.

Nick Mullens should get the bulk of the work at quarterback this Thursday. Perhaps if Mullens continues to show good accuracy like he’s shown in the preseason he could have an opportunity with another team.