Nick Mullens reportedly will make his NFL debut on Thursday night when he starts at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers against the Oakland Raiders in Santa Clara, Calif.
Mullens has been on the 49ers roster as a backup to C.J. Beathard since Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a torn ACL, but he has not appeared in any regular-season games.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Mullens will start against Oakland because Beathard is bothered by a wrist injury that affects his ability to grip the ball.
Beathard will be in uniform and will serve as the backup quarterback. The 49ers waived No. 3 quarterback Tom Tom Savage earlier on Thursday.
Mullens was undrafted in 2017 after making 41 starts at Southern Miss. He was signed to the 49ers’ practice squad last year and had been on the practice squad until Garoppolo suffered his injury.
During the 2018 preseason, Mullens went 31 of 43 for 396 yards, one passing touchdown, two rushing touchdowns, three interceptions, and two lost fumbles.
–The possibility of Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams playing this week against the Atlanta Falcons hit a roadblock.
Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said early this week that he expected Williams to play even though Williams suffered a dislocated thumb against the New York Giants last week.
However, Gruden said on Thursday that Williams was scheduled to see a specialist about his injury.
That visit will determine whether Williams needs surgery to repair the injury, and it will help Williams decide whether he can play with a cast on his hand. A decision on Williams’ status is expected to be made on Friday.
–Paul Zimmerman, a longtime football writer for Sports Illustrated, has died at the age of 86.
Zimmerman, known as Dr. Z, was one of the first reporters to write about the intricate details of a game others had overlooked.
He might explain in great detail how the offensive line was able to spring a running back for big gains in a given game.
His interviews with players and coaches revealed some of the minute details involved in winning football.
He was one of the first NFL draft experts when ESPN began televising the draft.