49ers’ Mullens will start at QB
Injured Garoppolo to miss game against Giants; Kittle, Mostert, Ford also out
Nick Mullens is the 49ers’ starting quarterback again, nearly two years after “Mullens Mania” enlivened a fan base desperate for a sign of hope.
Since then, Mullens has toiled in the superstar shadow of Jimmy Garoppolo, amid the franchise’s transition into Super Bowl contender.
It’s no secret what Mullens needed work on most to prepare for this coming scenario, when he starts Sunday in place of an injured Garoppolo and must lead
a skeleton crew of 49ers (1-1) past the New York Giants (0-2) at MetLife Stadium.
“It starts with arm strength. That’s the thing everybody is going to criticize but that’s one thing I’ve attacked,” Mullens said Friday. “Playing with the full field, that’s huge to me, and I’m excited to show that on Sunday.”
If there was a visible flaw to
Mullens’ 2018 NFL entry as a 3-5 starter, it was his velocity on passes toward the sideline boundaries. His right arm looks stronger, perhaps rivaling that of his grandfather, Ernie Tabor, who pitched professionally for the Phillies in the 1950s.
“He’s got a rocket for an arm. He’s slinging it,” tight end George Kittle said Thursday.
Kittle was Mullens’ prime target in 2018 en route to the most yards ever in a season by a tight end. Kittle won’t be there for Mullens this game, getting ruled out Friday and safely kept off MetLife
Stadium’s field, on which four 49ers sustained knee injuries in last Sunday’s 3113 win over the Jets.
Garoppolo’s early ankle sprain last Sunday sprung Mullens off the bench after halftime, and Garoppolo’s inability to practice this week got him ruled out Friday along with Kittle, running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman, defensive end Dee Ford and linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
Coach Kyle Shanahan vowed that it’s Garoppolo’s job again once healthy, and a three-game homestand starts next Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. “When Jimmy’s ready to go, he’ll be out there,” Shanahan said.
There is team-wide confidence in Mullens, partly because of how hard he’s worked to meet Shanahan’s demands, which Mullens described as being “automatic, crisp, professional.” It’s more than having something up his sleeve, so to speak.
“It’s not all just about the arm,” Shanahan said of Mullens’ improvement. “It’s the rhythm within you r d ropba ck s, t he rhythm with where you’re going when you’re seeing things.
“When you can have your cleats under you and get your throw out on time, you’re going to get the most out of your arm. The more he is decisive, the more he knows where he’s going, the more he gets out of his arm.”
With offseason prog rams limited, espe - cially this year, Mullens has worked with outside quarterback coaches, including Tom House in Southern California and David Morris in Mobile, Alabama. Once this offseason’s quarantine wore off, he emerged from his garage workouts to do strength training in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, with Johnny Smith of Traction Sports Performance.
“It was mainly to get his body fat down, bring his strength up some and overall give him a better quality of movement,” Smith said Friday.
Mullens’ mindset there was like it’s been since arriving with the 49ers in 2017, coming undrafted out of Southern Miss, where he surpassed Brett Favre’s records.
“Nick’s more of a headdown guy, gets work done and cracks a joke off here and there,” Smith said of Mullens’ humble and hardworking ways.
Mullens’ maturity goes beyond the field. Last year, he became a father, when his wife, Haleigh, gave birth to their son, Luke. On the same day, Aug. 30, Shanahan named Mullens the No. 2 quarterback ahead of C. J. Beathard, a role that wasn’t utilized in the ensuing games as Garoppolo rallied from knee reconstruction.
Mullens missed the 49ers’ opening- day roster his first two seasons and was practice-squad material until Garoppolo’s September 2018 knee injury.
Mullens’ first career loss came against the Giants on Nov. 12, 2018, at Levi’s Stadium. That loss came after a dazzling debut against the Raiders in prime time (three touchdown passes, 151.9 rating), and the 49ers only fell to the Giants once a Mullens comeback was countered by the Giants’ Eli Manning in the final minutes.