Niner Noise
FanSided

Predicting 10 players who make 49ers practice squad in 2019

By Peter Panacy

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - DECEMBER 09: A San Francisco 49ers player carries his helmet before their game against the Miami Dolphins at Candlestick Park on December 9, 2012 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - DECEMBER 09: A San Francisco 49ers player carries his helmet before their game against the Miami Dolphins at Candlestick Park on December 9, 2012 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 01: Wilton Speight #3 of the UCLA Bruins sets up to pass in the pocket during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 01: Wilton Speight #3 of the UCLA Bruins sets up to pass in the pocket during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

No. 10: Quarterback Wilton Speight

The 49ers are still going to have to figure out the No. 2 quarterback position this season behind Jimmy Garoppolo.

One might guess Nick Mullens wins this bout over his counterpart, C.J. Beathard. Yet it’s also possible the opposite happens. Either way, unless head coach Kyle Shanahan keeps three signal-callers on his 53-man roster, Beathard or Mullens could find himself donning a different uniform come Week 1.

San Francisco has, however, kept a reserve quarterback on its practice squad for a while now, as many teams do. Mullens served that role for the better part of the last two seasons before his promotion in 2018.

And this year, it looks like undrafted rookie Wilton Speight could assume that role in 2019.

Speight, the former Michigan quarterback who transferred to UCLA last season, has some raw and likable traits worth developing. Yet those aren’t ones which likely make him a hot commodity on the waiver wire.

Instead, the Niners continue to groom Speight in the latter portions of preseason games, but not too much to convince one of the other 31 teams he’s worth a waiver claim. As such, he starts his pro career off as a practice squad QB.