San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has no plans to make another switch at quarterback — for now. Second-year signal caller Nick Mullens has completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 512 yards with four touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 104.0 in his two NFL starts. The first was a dominant win over the struggling Oakland Raiders followed by a disappointing loss to the struggling New York Giants.
Shanahan joined KNBR on Friday morning and reiterated that Mullens would take reps as the starting quarterback next week when the 49ers return from their time off and begin preparing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Nick's done a good job in these two games and nothing that would make us feel that C.J. [Beathard] deserves his chance again," Shanahan said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "Nick's done a good job with his opportunity. I think the team believes in him. He's done a good job running the huddle, running the offense, and he's made a few plays when given the opportunity, also.
"He's earned that, and when we get back from the bye week, we'll start practice Monday with Nick and go forward with it."
Fellow second-year quarterback C.J. Beathard, a third-round draft pick in 2017, remains supportive of his teammate despite losing his starting job for the second consecutive season.
"I know he was disappointed when I told him he couldn't play two weeks ago against the Raiders," Shanahan said. "I know he was disappointed and he believed he was going to play real well. But he was happy for Nick. He's close with Nick. He respects Nick. He knows how hard Nick's worked for this opportunity. C.J. knows there are some things he could have done better to keep his opportunity going.
"I think C.J. wishes he was out there. He's handling it like you'd expect but he also is a good dude. He's a good teammate, and he's going to sit there and help Nick in every facet.
"I don't think C.J. will be done forever. I think he will get another opportunity again, and when he does eventually get that opportunity, he's got to make sure he's even more ready for it than he was last time."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
