Jimmy Garoppolo is the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Nothing Nick Mullens does while filling in for the injured signal-caller is going to change that. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made that clear this week.
That doesn't mean fans can't enjoy the performances Mullens puts in during his time as the starter. He started last weekend against the New York Giants, looked impressive doing so, and will likely start again on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Teammates are confident in Mullens. They know that the offense is in good hands with the backup quarterback under center. The 49ers may have one of the best quarterback situations in the league.
"I feel like San Francisco is blessed with probably two starters, quite frankly," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said this week. "[Mullens] is a smart kid. He's a hard worker. He puts the time in. You can see that in the way he plays. He doesn't make mistakes."
Richard Sherman also has a lot of confidence in his offensive teammate and discussed Mullens during the first episode of the Cris Collinsworth Podcast, which the 49ers cornerback cohosts.
"Nick Mullens has such a high ceiling," Sherman said. "And I think sometimes you get caught up in this league and say, 'Hey, this guy was drafted (in the) first round, so we hold him to this regard. This guy was undrafted, so we don't even give him consideration for being a top-level guy.'
"I think Nick Mullens can be a great quarterback in this league. Obviously, Jimmy's our guy, and he's the guy who's going to get his snaps when he comes back, and gets the acclaim. But I think Nick, when he gets his chance to be a starting quarterback in this league at some point, is going to surprise people.
"He threw for 400 (yards) against Seattle the first year I was out there. And he threw for 400 in a way that many people hadn't against Seattle in a really long time, and I think this game, he was prepared for his moment.
"We don't think of our guys as this is a mashed together unit. We think these are elite guys, and people don't know it yet. These are NFL players."
Mullens is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after this season. He's almost certainly a lock get a pay raise. We'll have to wait to see whether or not that will come from general manager John Lynch and company.
"The thing that I would say is there's a lot that can happen between now and Week 17," Mullens said this week on KNBR. "So much happens in the NFL. ... But I will say over four years, I have grown super faithful, you could say, to the red and gold and San Francisco."
You can listen to the entire podcast below.
