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Report: C.J. Beathard 'Truly 50-50' for Raiders vs. 49ers with Wrist Injury
November 1, 2018
San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard is reported to be "truly 50-50" for Thursday night's Week 9 game against the Oakland Raiders because of a wrist injury.
Adam Schefter of ESPN provided the update and noted Nick Mullens would start for the Niners if Beathard is ruled out.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the 24-year-old University of Iowa product is in a race against time because of the team's short week.
"C.J. would be good if we were playing on Sunday," Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. "But it's going to be a test for Thursday and probably won't know until then."
Beathard has completed 60.4 percent of his throws for 1,252 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions across six appearances this season. He stepped into the starting lineup after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending torn ACL in late September.
The Niners signed Mullens as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He posted a 72.1 percent completion rate during the 2018 preseason but tossed just one touchdown and three picks on 43 attempts.
Mullens, 23, said Tuesday he's prepared in case he's called upon for his first career NFL start.
"You have to keep yourself mentally sharp throughout the week, so really I'm just playing the game in my head," he told reporters. "I go home, see what plays we have in for the week. Then, I just play the game my head before it actually plays out."
Journeyman signal-caller Tom Savage would slide into the backup role if Beathard is unavailable to take on the Raiders.