Niner Noise
FanSided

An early look at 49ers’ best position battles in 2019 training camp

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - JULY 30: Ronald Johnson #88 of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass over Tramaine Brock #26 during practice at the San Francisco 49ers training facility on July 30, 2011 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JULY 30: Ronald Johnson #88 of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass over Tramaine Brock #26 during practice at the San Francisco 49ers training facility on July 30, 2011 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 02: Nick Mullens #4 of the San Francisco 49ers throws the ball in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on December 2, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 02: Nick Mullens #4 of the San Francisco 49ers throws the ball in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on December 2, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Backup Quarterback

The job of backing up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is arguably going to be one of the top discussion points between now and the regular season.

Why? Well, the loser of this training camp battle could easily find himself off the 49ers roster, if head coach Kyle Shanahan elects to keep only two signal-callers entering 2019.

The battle between C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens has a few factors in play. Based off last season alone, it seems as if Mullens has the upper hand by far, especially considering the relative success he had over his predecessor, whose struggles over 2017 and 2018 have largely destroyed any trade value. Simply put, Mullens has value on the open market right now. Beathard doesn’t.

That said, Shanahan would be wise to guard against what happened last year with Garoppolo’s ACL tear.

Backup quarterbacks, often overlooked, still are highly important. The Philadelphia Eagles highlighted that with now-Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles two seasons ago en route to a Super Bowl win.

San Francisco might not be on that trajectory quite yet. But the team could go one of two ways: increase Mullens’ trade value on the open market, or hope to get anything out of Beathard if he loses out this summer.