49ers’ Nick Mullens preps for road debut
SANTA CLARA — Jimmy Garoppolo strolled onto the 49ers practice field Wednesday, doing so without crutches and appearing there for the first time since his seasonending knee injury.
What he saw amid light rain, with his hands tucked inside his sweatshirt’s pocket, were three quarterbacks going through the same drills he last ran two months ago.
Only one quarterback matters in the 49ers immediate plans, and it’s not Garoppolo. It’s Nick Mullens, who’ll be making his third straight start and first on the road Sunday when the 49ers (2-8) visit Tampa Bay (3-7).
“It’s important I keep my same mindset,” Mullens said. “It only matters what you do on the field and don’t let the environment impact the way you play.”
The sound of 50,000 fans hollering over his play calls shouldn’t faze Mullens. As tight end George Kittle revealed, Mullens’ weekly preparations include listening to crowd noise in his headphones at home as he recites play calls.
“We obviously put a lot of hours in during the day. But work doesn’t stop here,” Mullens said. “You go home, study the plays and I have a strict routine that helps me prepare, that does involve
calling out the plays and envisioning the plays. That helps me be successful.”
And what does his wife, Haleigh, react in their hometurned-huddle?
“She’s just sitting there next to me, hanging out,” Mullens said. “I wouldn’t say I’m yelling. You do what you do to prepare.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Mullens is his starter until further notice, an expected move after C.J. Beathard went 0-5 as Garoppolo’s replacement. Garoppolo, by the way, has stayed in the background, shuffling out of the locker room rather than hold a media session Wednesday as reporters swarmed him.
Mullens isn’t taking it for granted, adding: “I have to prove myself every single day, every single rep and every single play. It’s just the way the league works and that’s how I want to be. I want to achieve, and if you don’t, I know what comes.”