LA Rams signing a backup pocket QB would give peace of mind
By Bret Stuter
QB Mullens
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens adds little more than salt to a division rival. He is coming off a $750,000 salary to play for the 49ers last season. While he too is a pocket passer, there are some intriguing reasons to consider him for the competition with the LA Rams for a backup quarterback role.
He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 210-pounds, not an ideal size for a modern-day NFL quarterback. He has been that guy who has taken over for an oft-injured Jimmy Garoppolo and has only had modest success at doing so. He joined the 49ers as an undrafted rookie in 2017 and has played in 19 games over the past three seasons, starting in 16 of them.
Over that span, he has completed 387 of 600 passes for 4,714 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions. He also had led the team to a fourth-quarter comeback victory in 2020. While he has only seen action for three seasons, he has had a rather intense past three years when discussing backup quarterbacks.
And not to be lost in this discussion, he played for Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system, the same basic offensive scheme that Rams HC Sean McVay deploys. So his jump into the Rams offensive playbook is much simpler than that of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who ran a completely different offensive strategy. Again, he will not be expected to win 10+ games for the Rams. But a contract at or near the league minimum would certainly be a step in the right direction.