It appears that C.J. Beathard almost exited the 49ers’ first win in the fourth quarter. With the thumb on his throwing hand still throbbing from striking his hand on a helmet in last week’s loss, Beathard aggravated the injury with a dive into the end zone at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
That’s when coaches summoned backup Jimmy Garoppolo for his 49ers’ debut as Beathard tried to work out the injury by throwing on the sidelines. Coaches also went to veteran tight end Garrett Celek.
Coaches told Celek that Jimmy was coming in and that he was still learning the playbook. “They were like, ‘Hey, if something happens in the play calling, help him out,’” Celek was told.
Beathard actually stayed in the game, and with the 49ers up 24-13 at the time, Beathard needed to throw just one fourth-quarter pass, an 8-yard completion to newly-signed wide receiver Louis Murphy. The rest of the time, Beathard either handed the ball off, or took a knee to end the game.
“I wanted to be there when we went into the victory formation,” Beathard said. “I wasn’t trying to come out.”
Now Beathard has an entire bye week to rest the injury.
