Will 49ers move on from QBs Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard in 2020?

The San Francisco 49ers held onto quarterbacks Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard in 2019, but that might not be the case in 2020. Who stays, who goes and why?

It seemed like something of an odd decision in 2019 when the San Francisco 49ers elected to keep three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster: Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard.

Of the three, Beathard seemed the strangest. After all, following a 1-9 start to his pro career, Beathard eventually lost the 2019 training camp battle to Mullens for the honor of backing up Garoppolo during the regular season. And Beathard would find himself a weekly member of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s game-day inactive list.

Heading into 2020, however, it doesn’t seem likely Shanahan will employ the same approach. And because of this, it’s likely one of the two backups, Beathard or Mullens, winds up being moved before the start of the regular season.

But who?

There are cases for both, just like a year ago at this time. Yet the context is vastly different than it was in early 2019. For starters, San Francisco is pressed up against the salary cap. While parting ways with either signal-caller won’t drastically change the Niners’ 2020 cap picture, every little bit counts.

Similarly, the 49ers are hurting for NFL Draft picks, boasting just one selection (No. 31 overall) between Rounds 1 through 4.

Both Mullens and Beathard can impact those two factors, while removing one from the equation could free up a valuable roster spot heading into 2020.

Let’s take a look at the cases for parting ways with each of the two players.

C.J. Beathard

Of the two, Beathard is the strongest candidate to be seeking new employment elsewhere this upcoming season.

His regular-season record is pretty indicative of his overall efforts, which include a career 57.3 completion percentage and 81.8 passer rating — both towards the very bottom of qualifying quarterbacks over the two-year span between 2017 and 2018.

Beathard has zero trade value, however, and the 49ers would be lucky to command any sort of draft compensation in return. It’s smarter to rule that possibility out altogether, so moving Beathard through a trade should be off the table.

Waiving him, however, would free up just shy of $1 million in cap space against a mere $176,572 in dead money.

A million for a regularly inactive quarterback is quite a lot of money to spend, so one has to figure the Niners consider this.

Nick Mullens

If cap space was the only concern for San Francisco, parting ways with Beathard would be the easy choice.

But the 49ers are also short on draft picks, too, and Mullens still commands some decent trade value on the open market. And if Garoppolo stays healthy and continues to develop under Shanahan’s tutelage, there would be little need to explore keeping Mullens around aside from the injury-risk factor to Garoppolo.

That factor remains, of course. But San Francisco has to consider two key things here. There are going to be more quarterback-needy teams this offseason than likable options in the NFL Draft, meaning a number of teams could be calling Shanahan and Co. to inquire about Mullens’ services.

A bidding war only serves to increase Mullens’ trade value, which could help restock the Niners’ draft reserves.

The other factor to weigh is Mullens is a 2020 exclusive-rights free agent, meaning he is coming off a low-cost $570,000 deal and can only negotiate with the team holding his rights this year. His tender will make him a 2021 restricted free agent, which also gives the team plenty of negotiating power, likely at a very low cost.

That’ll be attractive to teams inquiring about a possible trade. But given the 49ers’ own cap concerns, Mullens’ deal is also something the Niners would enjoy having, too.

See the paradox?

Ultimately, the final decision could come down to which quarterback Shanahan prefers. Last year, he wanted both players on the roster.

Yet with the situation in Santa Clara changing heading into 2020, Shanahan’s hand might be forced into parting ways with one of his two backups.