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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters following Monday night's loss that he had not had a chance to consider who will be the Week 12 starting quarterback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shanahan was, after all, just minutes removed from a disappointing game he felt his squad should have won.
While Shanahan was a bit more confident about his quarterback situation on Tuesday, he still would not fully commit to Nick Mullens starting for the remainder of the season. For now, however, the quarterback remains the starter.
"Nick Mullens is our starter until I say differently," Shanahan told reporters. "Going about it that way and that's how it will continue to be."
Mullens was impressive during his NFL debut against the Oakland Raiders on November 1. He completed 16-of-22 pass attempts for 262 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 151.9 in the dominant 34-3 victory.
11 days later, against the struggling New York Giants, Mullens completed 27-of-39 pass attempts for 250 yards with a touchdown, two picks, and a passer rating of 73.7 in the 27-23 defeat.
Shanahan doesn't view Monday night's performance as a setback for the young quarterback.
"I think it's a positive experience," Shanahan said. "The guy has played one game in his career. I know statistically, that was the best (debut) start in NFL history, but I think Nick did some real good things yesterday too. [...] He did some good things at the beginning, some good things at the end, and had some plays at the beginning he missed, and some plays at the end he missed.
"What I liked about Nick, he never seemed rattled throughout the whole game, continued playing. He was great after the game. He was great just watching the film with him."
Shanahan was frustrated when Mullens missed what he thought was a big opportunity against the Giants, but changed his mind after looking over the film with his quarterback on Tuesday.
"There was one that I thought live that he should've got to a deeper guy from my view on the sidelines, and I got on him for it because I wanted a bigger pass," Shanahan said. "I thought it was there; he was open. He just sits there, and listens, and takes it. Then I watched the film. If he would've gone for what I wanted, I think it would've been a sack, and it would've been second-and-15.
"So that stuff, I like. He's got a feel for that in the pocket. I always want him to be aggressive and go down the field and have bigger plays but not at the expense of risking a sack. I think he's done a good job with that."
The 49ers have six games remaining, and Shanahan would like to see Nick, along with the rest of his players, continue to improve.
"He's a good pocket passer, but I want him to be perfect at it," Shanahan added.
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
