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Nick Mullens’ Week 14 performance vs. Washington wasn’t bad enough to earn him a demotion. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday told reporters via video conference that Mullens would get the start in Week 15 vs. Dallas.
While Shanahan committed to starting the former undrafted free agent, he left open the possibility of an appearance by CJ Beathard.
“Yeah, I plan on Nick starting,” Shanahan said. “We’ll always see what goes on in practice, but Nick’s the guy we’ll start out with and we’ll see how it goes.”
Mullens is now 5-10 in 15 career starts, but his two-turnover showing against Washington led to a pair of defensive scores that proved decisive in the Football Team’s 23-15 victory. Shanahan considered replacing Mullens with Beathard mid-game, but concluded Beathard wasn’t warmed up and stuck with his starter.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mullens with a short leash Sunday. The 49ers’ playoff hopes are all but dashed, but there’s a sliver of hope for them barring a loss to Dallas. If Mullens commits another turnover, Shanahan may pull the plug.
The quarterback situation for San Francisco going into Week 15 isn’t pretty, and it’s something of a long-term issue they could address as soon as this offseason.