Why Young still would start Mullens if Jimmy G can't play

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Kyle Shanahan still isn't revealing who will start at quarterback Sunday for the 49ers against the Miami Dolphins if Jimmy Garoppolo isn't healthy enough to play. Steve Young knows what he would do, though. 

“I would go back to Nick, because I think more importantly you think that Nick is a player that could be around for a while," Young said Wednesday on KNBR's "Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks" show. "I’d tell Nick, ‘Look, you’ve got a short leash here buddy, you got to make it happen.' Quarterbacks, we need opportunities and if this is the last opportunity that he sees and C.J. takes over -- it’s a fundamental decision that Kyle has to make. If he’s going to play C.J. and start him, the odds are you don’t go back to Nick.

“I hate to see the situation kind of end this way. C.J. clearly came off the bench and did a nice job, and he proved that he could do that."

Mullens looked like a star against the lowly New York Giants in Week 3 with Garoppolo nursing a high ankle sprain. But the next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, who entered Levi's Stadium without a win, Mullens threw two interceptions -- one returned for a touchdown -- and lost a fumble. He was replaced by Beathard, who looked solid in his first action since October 2018. 

Beathard completed 14 of 19 pass attempts for 138 yards in the loss. He didn't turn the ball over once while playing 23 snaps.

Despite Beathard playing better last week, however, Young still would stick with Mullens.

RELATED: King unsure what 49ers do with Jimmy G if he gets hurt again

“Just from what I see I would go back to Nick, see if he can rehab and kind of get back on top of things," Young said. "Get back some momentum, and the team will respond to that too because they love Nick.

"And if he can’t, then C.J. it’s your job, and that’s the way this is going to go down.”

There's no QB controversy with the 49ers when it comes to Garoppolo. Who backs him up is a different, unknown story.

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