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San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard spoke with reporters on Tuesday and shared that he believes the looming quarterback competition has made him better. It was Nick Mullens' turn on Wednesday to address how the battle for the backup job behind Jimmy Garoppolo has brought out the best in him.
"That's what competition is," Mullens said. "You work every day. You do your best. Just let the chips fall where they may. And me and C.J., I think, are both playing at a pretty high level, so it's a lot of fun just getting better every day."
Mullens, like Beathard, is entering his third NFL season. Both have seen meaningful in-game snaps and have several starts under their belts. They have also had another offseason to become more comfortable with head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Mullens identified one area where he has improved this offseason, and he intends to continue building on his progress during the team's time off.
"I think the biggest thing is just playing decisive football," Mullens said. "You know, how quick can you make your decisions? How quick can you skip a read to get to the next read because you know it's going to be open? That's one thing that helps me play my best. I think throughout camp, I'm just trying to be quick in my decisions, and I think it has helped."
Mullens received the bulk of last season's starts after replacing Beathard, who was in for an injured Garoppolo. He finished the year having completed 176-of-274 attempts (64.2 percent) for 2,277 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through eight starts.
"I think experience is valuable," Mullens said. "People say that you feel comfortable in year two. In year one, you're trying to figure things out, where you fit. Year two, you know the offense. And year three, now I have experience.
"Every rep you get, the more comfortable you get, and now it's kind of fun to take advantage of every rep and see what happens. So experience is definitely valuable, and I try to use it to my advantage."
You can watch the entire interview with Mullens below, courtesy of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat's Grant Cohn.
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