Early 49ers roster bubble watch after 2020 NFL Draft

Quarterback

Lock: Jimmy Garoppolo

Strong Bubble: Nick Mullens

Weak Bubble: C.J. Beathard

Long Shot: Broc Rutter

There’s going to be a similar training camp storyline to watch this year behind the 49ers’ starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, centering on whether or not Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard should be the primary backup.

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Last year’s results speak to the likelihood Mullens wins out again. And Beathard’s $1,122,751 in owed money for 2020, along with only $176,572 in dead money if cut, puts him on the weaker side of the bubble if Kyle Shanahan sees fit to save the extra roster spot and avoid keeping three quarterbacks on the regular-season roster.

Beathard will be a free agent in 2021, and it’s hard to envision any scenario involving the 49ers re-signing him. But Mullens will be a restricted free agent a year from now, and another team out there could be willing to dish out some draft compensation to sign him away from San Francisco.

That possibly explains why the Niners inked Broc Rutter, an undrafted free agent out of a Division III school, North Central.

Rutter’s accolades are worth mentioning, especially if San Francisco is looking at him to groom on the practice squad as a would-be long-term backup to Garoppolo should Beathard and Mullens be gone a year from now.