There is no doubt that Jimmy Garoppolo will be the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback when the 2019 season kicks off, assuming there are no setbacks in his recovery from a torn ACL. The backup quarterback job is not nearly as clear. At least, not in the mind of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan told reporters on Friday that Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard would be "dead even" in his mind if the season ended today and the two would be competing for the backup quarterback job.
"If the season ended now, they'd both be going into the offseason competing," Shanahan said. "C.J. was our two and Nick was our three, and Nick came in and got his opportunity because C.J. was hurt. He's done good enough to keep that in all four of the games he's played."
Mullens has four more games to prove the job should be his. Of course, that also means Beathard might be able to seize an opportunity should Mullens stumble down the stretch.
"We'll see how that goes for these next four," Shanahan continued. "It was nothing against C.J., but Nick came in and played well, and there hasn't been a reason to put C.J. back in yet based off of Nick.
"They're dead even to me. I know C.J. really wants another opportunity before this year ends. I can't guarantee that for him. We'll see how these games play out, but I see them having a pretty good competition going into next year."
Mullens has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,147 yards with seven touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.5 in four starts.
Beathard completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,252 yards with eight touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 81.8 in five starts.
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