49ers vs. Giants injury report and Week 3 Vegas odds: Nick Mullens will start at QB for Niners and George Kittle out

The San Francisco 49ers will be the third team to start a backup quarterback in Week 3 (LA Chargers and Denver the others) as Nick Mullens will get the call for the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at the New York Giants. Jimmy Garoppolo was always a long shot to play after suffering an ankle injury last Sunday on that same MetLife Stadium field. Kyle Shanahan held out hope this week but confirmed it would be Mullens starting Friday morning. Because the Niners are so banged up overall, including also missing Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle, this NFL spread has dropped from them as opening 6.5-point favorites to currently -3.5. It may keep dropping. 

Mullens was a 2017 undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss who spent his entire rookie season on the Niners' practice squad. He would be promoted to the active roster early in the 2018 season when Garoppolo suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Mullens made eight starts that year and was 3-5. He did face the Giants on Nov. 12, 2018, on a Monday night in San Francisco. New York won 27-23 behind three TD passes from Eli Manning. Mullens threw for 250 yards with a TD and two picks.

Mullens played the second half of last week's game vs. the Jets and was 8-for-11 for 71 yards with a pick. Overall, Mullens has completed 184-for-285 passes (64.6 percent) in 10 career games with 13 touchdown passes and 11 picks, a rating of 89.3. That rating would rank 21st in the NFL this year.

For sure, Mullens will not have top receiver Deebo Samuel or the team's top two running backs in Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Samuel is on IR and the tailbacks were both hurt last week. Jerick McKinnon likely becomes the primary back. Kittle has been ruled out after missing Week 2 with a knee injury. Shanahan on Thursday said Kittle would be a game-time decision after getting in a limited practice, but something clearly changed Friday. San Francisco will be missing a handful of defensive starters as well, including 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa, who tore his ACL in Week 2.

The Giants begin life without superstar tailback Saquon Barkley, who also tore his ACL in Week 2. Devonta Freeman was signed off the street Tuesday, and he could actually play Sunday assuming he clears all the COVID-19 protocols and gets in a practice. Freeman was Shanahan's lead back for two seasons when Shanahan was Falcons' offensive coordinator.

New York also will be without starting wideout Sterling Shepard, who landed on injured reserve this week with turf toe. Shepard caught the last-minute TD pass from Manning in that 2018 Giants victory in the Bay Area.

Usually, it's a benefit when an East Coast team hosts a West Coast one with the early kickoff, but the Giants are 0-8 against the spread in their past eight at home vs. West Coast teams. 

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