The San Francisco 49ers have already pulled off one blockbuster trade this season, sending All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts.
With a shortage of draft picks heading into the annual event later this month, the expectation is that the defending NFC champions will pull off at least another trade.
Just don’t expect it to be respected young backup quarterback Nick Mullens.
Appearing on the NFL Shuffle podcast with former ESPN scribe Adnan Virk this week, Michael Lombardi of The Athletic noted that the 49ers have turned down multiple trade offers for Mullens.
“There was about three teams trying to trade for Kyle Allen,” Lombardi said this week. “You know what’s interesting about the Kyle Allen trade? This is really interesting. The 49ers got a bunch of phone calls — when I say a bunch, a couple of teams — on Nick Mullens, the backup quarterback in San Francisco. Nick Mullens. They were asking about him, and they turned down every trade offer for Nick Mullens. They wouldn’t trade him.”
San Francisco was one of the rare teams to roster three quarterbacks last season. Mullens, 25, was the primary backup to Jimmy Garoppolo while C.J. Beathard served as the No. 3 signal caller.
A former undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi, Mullens showed out big time in replacing the injured Garoppolo back in 2018. That season saw him put up 2,277 yards with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in just eight starts.
It’s not yet known what San Francisco was offered for Mullens. But given the fact that the Carolina Panthers received a fifth-round pick for Kyle Allen, that was likely the starting-off point.
Any team that were to acquire Mullens would likely be doing so while giving him an opportunity to earn a starting job.