Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
49ers QB Nick Mullens will start vs. Raiders with C.J. Beathard as his backup
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard entered the short week with injuries to his right wrist and thumb. He was listed as questionable for Thursday night's game at Levi's Stadium against the Oakland Raiders.
Beathard is not healthy enough to start for San Francisco, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
That means Nick Mullens will make not only his first career start but his NFL debut when the 49ers take the field on Thursday night. He appeared in all four exhibition games this season while completing 72.1 percent of his passes for 396 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Mullens also had two rushing touchdowns during the preseason.
Beathard will be active. The 49ers waived emergency quarterback Tom Savage on Thursday afternoon. Beathard and Mullens are the only other quarterbacks on the roster.
RELATED 49ers announce roster moves, including waiving QB Tom Savage, before Thursday night game vs. Raiders
Mullens, like Beathard, is a second-year player. While the 49ers drafted Beathard during the third round of last year's draft, Mullens was signed as an undrafted free agent and spent all of last season on the practice squad. He received all of the practice reps this week in place of the injured Beathard. Each of those two practices was a walk-through, though.
"Nick's getting all the reps in practice," head coach Kyle Shanahan said
during a KNBR interview on Wednesday. "They're all walk-through reps. You can't do anything full-speed this week. The guys are still trying to recover from the game from three days ago. Thursday nights are always a little bit different."
RELATED Reason for optimism ahead of possible Nick Mullens debut
Beathard could not grip a football on Monday or Tuesday. By Wednesday, he was able to do so, head coach Kyle Shanahan told Matt Maiocco of
NBC Sports Bay Area.
Beathard has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,252 yards this season with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown. Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals represented Beathard's first start without throwing an interception since October 22, 2017.
Related News
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
49ers sign WR Trent Taylor, reuniting with former draft pick
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
Draft Watch: Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley visiting 49ers on Wednesday
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Rapoport: 49ers send clear message to teams inquiring about Brandon Aiyuk
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
7-round mock draft from The Athletic sees 49ers fortifying defense early
Analyst Dane Brugler recently revealed his seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, forecasting all 257 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, set to kick off next week.
"Piecing together a mock like this is time consuming, but I enjoy the exercise, because it allows me to focus on each team's needs, organizational trends and prospect-team pairings that make sense based on '30' visits, league buzz and overall interest," Brugler wrote.
Most expect the 49ers to address the trenches early in the draft, and Brugler has the team doing that. It's just not on the offensive side of the football. In fact, Brugler doesn't have San Francisco
