Jimmy Garoppolo is the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback. That much is known. What we don’t know is who is backup will be, and what will happen to who isn’t designated as the backup.
We’ve had our speculations and predictions as to who could win the competition. Some think Nick Mullens was a flash in the pan after the Oakland Raiders game. Others think C.J. Beathard is what he is, and offers little upside.
In answering a recent question, Matt Maiocco offered some thoughts on who the 49ers could trade away if a team was interested. The answer to the question is our discussion:
The 49ers have three options:
1. Cut C.J. Beathard or Nick Mullens.
2. Keep three QBs on their 53-man roster.
3. Trade Beathard or Mullens.Of those three options, there is no question the 49ers would rather trade one of their reserve quarterbacks.
I’m of the opinion right now that they are fine with either Beathard or Mullens as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo. If another team feels a need to add a backup, I believe the 49ers would be open to trading either one – whichever player the other team wants more and will attract the better compensation.
This isn’t a matter of who will win the backup battle, that argument has gone back and forth for awhile. Rather than that, which quarterback would you trade away? If Mullens is in position to win the backup battle, but a team were to make an offer, would you be fine with trading him and hanging with Beathard?
I’d trade C.J. Beathard, even if he won the competition. The reasoning is that the coaching staff has moved on from him twice. Once to usher in the era of Garoppolo and the other because Nick Mullens played well enough in one game that the bench was appropriate. The trade would be more for the mental game if anything. If Beathard won the backup battle and clearly was the better QB, but a team came calling, I’d be open to a deal in a heartbeat.
Or would you be fine with trading Mullens and keeping Beathard because of the time invested in his development? Even if he were the better quarterback, would you trade him and keep Beathard for maybe a better offer? Obviously compensation plays a lot into this on who you’d choose, but it’s a fun thing to think about.
Which 49ers backup quarterback would you trade?