The 49ers signed Mullens as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss in 2017. He completed 211-of-326 attempts (64.7 percent) for 2,437 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through 10 games with the 49ers in 2020.
Mullens, 26, has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 4,714 yards with 25 touchdowns and 22 interceptions through his three NFL seasons. He did not play as a rookie in 2017.
Only one quarterback, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, has passed for more yards than Mullens through his first 16 NFL starts. Mahomes racked up 5,100 during those starts while Mullens passed for 4,405, supplanting former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck for the No. 2 spot.
Mullens' season ended during Week 15 after the quarterback suffered an elbow that required offseason surgery. He was not expected to return to San Francisco in 2021. The team also allowed backup C.J. Beathard to leave and sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"I love Nick. He helped us out a ton here," head coach Kyle Shanahan said in April. "Nick had a real tough injury that he's working through to come back from, and I think he'll be healed up around camp. That's why he's out there as a free agent, and we'll see what happens to him.
"But I know Nick was thrown into a tough situation for us last year that he didn't play his best, but we didn't help him around him either. Kind of like a lot of our team last year. But I have the utmost respect for Nick, and once he gets healthy, I believe he'll get a shot somewhere."
The 49ers quarterback room currently consists of Jimmy Garoppolo, rookie Trey Lance, Josh Rosen, and Nate Sudfeld.
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