As Jimmy Garoppolo prepares to take center stage in the Bay Area, 49ers insider Matt Maiocco joined Gary & Larry Thursday afternoon and explained that rookie C.J. Beathard still has a role to play in the 49ers’ future.
“At the same time, the thing that Beathard has shown since taking over for Brian Hoyer is that, he’s going to be a part of this team long-term,” Maiocco said. “He might not be the starter, but you can pretty much feel assured that he’s going to be at the very least a backup for a very long time.
“So, you don’t want to do anything that kind of stunts his growth or makes him feel disenchanted with this organization either.”
Beathard isn’t expected to supersede Garoppolo as the next franchise quarterback, but he’s proven himself a reliable member of the 49ers moving forward. The 24-year-old is young with a toughness that transcends his age and the four-year contract he signed this June will not break the 49ers’ payroll.
“It seems to me that the way C.J. Beathard played in the game Sunday against the Giants, he played his best game,” Maiocco said. “Talking to John Lynch, he was very adamant that they don’t feel like they need to do anything.”
Aside from the 49ers wanting to see Garoppolo in action, it makes the most sense for Beathard to continue as starting quarterback for the time being.
“Let’s just look at the facts, Garoppolo has only been here 3 weeks, he doesn’t know the system nearly as well as C.J. Beathard does,” Maiocco said. “I do think they’ll get to that position where Garoppolo will have more in his library of plays than just 20 pass plays and 25 run plays that he’s gotten into these first two games with. I think they can take this a little more cautious and not feel that urgency to get him out there and play.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 2:18 for Maiocco on Beathard.
