The good news is that Jimmy Garoppolo got back onto the practice field on Wednesday. He was limited, but it was progress for the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has not played or practiced since suffering an ankle injury during Week 2.
#49ers' @JimmyG_10, @RMos_8Ball, and @Senseispunk back at work. pic.twitter.com/nSpFPAgGvK
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) October 8, 2020
Nick Mullens had been filling in for the injured Garoppolo until the fourth quarter of Sunday night's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. His ineffectiveness forced head coach Kyle Shanahan to bench the quarterback and replace him with C.J. Beathard.
Beathard looked better than Mullens during his limited snaps. His numbers came in the closing minutes of the game, though.
Who starts on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins if Garoppolo cannot go? On Wednesday, Shanahan said that he knows the answer to that question, but isn't ready to show his hand.
"Yes, I have (decided on who would start)," Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday, "but I'm going to hold that just because there is a difference between them, and if Jimmy can't go, I'd like Miami to find that out on Sunday."
If it were up to Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who joined KNBR on Wednesday, Mullens would be given another shot.
"I would go back to Nick because I think, more importantly, if you're thinking Nick is a player that could be around for a little while -- I'd tell Nick, 'Look, you've got a short leash here, buddy. You've got to make it happen,'" Young said on the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "Quarterbacks, we need opportunities, and if this is the last opportunity that he sees and C.J. takes over, it's a fundamental decision that Kyle has to make.
"If he's going to play C.J. and start him, the odds are you don't go back to Nick. I hate to see the situation kind of end this way. C.J. clearly came off the bench and did a nice job, and he proved that he could do that. I don't know. I would personally go back to [Mullens].
"Look, I'm not there. This is contextual, but just from what I see, I would go back to Nick, see if he can rehab, and kind of get back on top of things. Get back some momentum, and then the team will respond to that too because they love Nick. And if he can't, then C.J., it's your job, and that's the way this is going to go down."
You can listen to the entire discussion with Young below.