Nick Mullens will likely be allowed to look at his options. The San Francisco 49ers are not expected to give their backup quarterback a restricted free agent tender, per NBC Sports Bay Area. There is not expected to be a significant market for the veteran backup, which means San Francisco does not have to rush into any decision surrounding him.
"The 49ers are not likely to tender him because he is currently in the midst of a six-month recovery from surgery on his throwing elbow," Matt Maiocco recently reported.
Mullens suffered his injury during San Francisco's playoff-eliminating loss to the Dallas Cowboys during Week 15. He was replaced by C.J. Beathard for the remainder of the season. Beathard is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.
Mullens and Beathard have been fixtures within the 49ers quarterback room during head coach Kyle Shanahan's tenure. Mullens was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss in 2017, while San Francisco made Beathard a third-round draft pick out of Iowa that same year.
Mullens completed 211-of-326 attempts (64.7 percent) for 2,437 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through 10 game appearances and eight starts last season. Beathard went 66-of-104 (63.5 percent) for 787 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions in his six game appearances and two starts.
The 49ers have three quarterbacks on their roster—Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh Rosen, and Josh Johnson. The team could pursue another during the offseason. General manager John Lynch recently discussed the need to bolster the depth at quarterback this offseason. Starter Jimmy Garoppolo has missed 23 games due to injury over the past three seasons, including missing 10 games in 2020.
"Though, being available is a big part of this thing," Lynch said last month during the Eye Test for Two podcast. "So, like I said, we probably, as a stated goal, we have to insulate ourselves better, and we have to have better options if he's not there."