Nick Mullens will get another chance at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, with a few extra days to prepare before next taking the field on Nov. 15 in New Orleans.
The day after the 49ers were throttled 34-17 by Green Bay at home, coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday he is willing to stick with Mullens despite a lackluster performance against the Packers.
Mullens, in his third season out of Southern Mississippi, completed 22 of 35 passes for 291 yards Thursday night with one touchdown and one interception. The TD pass — 41 yards to Richie James — didn’t come until five minutes remained in the game.
A true assessment of Mullens’ abilities was hard to come by, as the 49ers were missing multiple key players due to injury or COVID-19 restrictions. A high-ankle sprain to starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo gave Mullens his third start of the season.
But he was without key targets like tight end George Kittle (foot) and wide receivers Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Brandon Aiyuk (COVID-19) and Kendrick Bourne (COVID-19). Running back Raheem Mostert (ankle) also was out.
Shanahan said Monday that Mullens was not the reason the 49ers failed to stay competitive with the Packers.
Mullens is 91 of 133 this season for 1,143 yards, with five touchdowns and four interceptions. In 14 career games (11 starts) he is 267 of 407 for 3,420 yards with 18 TDs and 14 picks.
–Field Level Media