49ers OTAs begin today

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters that Jimmy Garoppolo would be a full participant in practice on Wednesday, indicating that the plan is for the quarterback to start on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams. At least, that remains the hope. "He's ready to go out there and go today," Shanahan said. "He's still coming back from it, but I expect him to have a full practice, and I'll evaluate him out there." The coach added that he felt Garoppolo practiced well last week, and the team was confident in his health, leading to Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins. "I think that's why he was able to get through most of the game, and probably could have continued to get through most of the game," Shanahan added, "but I

Nick Mullens spent all of last season as Jimmy Garoppolo's backup. He started this season in that same role. When a high-ankle sprain sidelined Garoppolo in Week 2, Mullens replaced him and then started the next two games. However, a poor performance in that second start led to Mullens being benched late in the game and replaced by C.J. Beathard. Then there was a change to the quarterback depth chart. Beathard, not Mullens, entered this past weekend's game against the Miami Dolphins as Garoppolo's backup. He was needed, too, because Garoppolo was clearly still hindered by the injury and benched at halftime. Garoppolo's status for Sunday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams is not yet known. Head coach Kyle Shanahan will use this week's practices to determine

Mike McGlinchey welcomes criticism of his play, so long as the critic is looking at the entire body of his work instead of picking out a play or two here and there. He acknowledged that he has made mistakes this season. However, McGlinchey feels that his overall performance has been better than many are making it out to be. The third-year tackle sees the analysis on social media and is fine with it, so long as it is done right. Said McGlinchey on Wednesday: "Obviously, I don't really appreciate people who are the armchair quarterbacks that take a 30-second clip off of Twitter and think they understand offensive-line play. I don't like that." Pro Football Focus grades show that McGlinchey's overall play has been improving as the season progresses