What It Means:

Garoppolo suffered a new ankle sprain that is worse than the one he endured in Week 2. There is hope that Garoppolo may be able to return by the end of December, but he could ultimately wind up requiring season-ending surgery. Nick Mullens will start Thursday night's Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers. It's mostly a lateral move for the 49ers' offense and pass-catchers.

Mullens earned Pro Football Focus' fifth-highest grade among quarterbacks after coming off the bench for Garoppolo in Week 8. He is adding 0.3 Passing Net Expected Points per dropback and has an average depth of target of 7.2 yards, compared to 0.2 Passing NEP and 6.5 yards for Garoppolo. Mullens is the QB19 in numberFire's Week 9 fantasy rankings. Our models project him for 17.6 FanDuel points and he has a salary of $6,500, tied for lowest among all starting quarterbacks.