Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

C.J. Beathard focused on first start, but next 10 games a big opportunity

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As part of his new job as San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, C.J. Beathard will have a lot of firsts this week. On Wednesday, he had his first media session as the official starter.

During the course of that roughly seven-minute Q&A, Beathard was asked multiple times in different ways whether he had considered what these next 10 games could mean for his career.

“No, I’m really just trying to take it one day, one week at a time," Beathard said. "I’m not looking that far ahead. Right now my focus is on today’s practice and geared towards beating the Cowboys and doing the best we can to get better and improve.”

Does that mean, even in the back of his mind, Beathard hasn't thought about how a strong finish could put him in good position to be the Niners' starter in 2018 and beyond?

“No, honestly," Beathard said. "I’m really just focused on this week."

Well, that makes one of us. While Beathard is digging into his first game plan as an NFL starter in anticipation of Sunday's visit from the Dallas Cowboys, there are plenty of others wondering what it might take for Beathard to force the 49ers to forget about their Kirk Cousins wishes and Sam Darnold dreams and cast their lot with their 2017 third-round pick?

Included in the group asking that question? None other than 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Asked Wednesday how much of what Beathard does between now and the end of the season will weigh into the way the team projects its future at quarterback, Shanahan didn't sugarcoat it.

“A ton," Shanahan said. "That’s for every position. That’s for every player on our team. That’s for every coach on our team. Like I’ve been saying, I know we’re 0-6 and that’s extremely tough, but I’m extremely excited about this place and excited about where we’re at and where we’re going.”

While that might be applicable to every position, there's no spot on the Niners' roster that will get more scrutiny than quarterback until they find the right one.

In the first offseason under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, the Niners revamped their quarterback room, signing Brian Hoyer and drafting Beathard out of Iowa. Neither quarterback was considered the answer the team has sought; Hoyer was viewed as a placeholder, Beathard a project.

The decision to go with Hoyer and Beathard meant passing on every quarterback in the draft, including the likes of Deshaun Watson and Mitchell Trubisky, with an eye toward building up the roster before what figures to be an intriguing 2018 offseason at the position.

Cousins and New England's Jimmy Garoppolo are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents, though nobody knows for sure if either will make it to the open market. And the draft would have top prospects such as USC's Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Wyoming's Josh Allen available.

The Niners removed Hoyer for Beathard after five-plus games in part because Shanahan believed it was time to start seeing what the rookie's ceiling might be. That's something that probably still won't have a definitive answer after these next 10 games, but that's a much better sample size than two or three meaningless games at the end of the season.

Which begs the question of what, exactly, Shanahan will be seeking from Beathard before he'd be willing to make his job as the 49ers starting quarterback a permanent situation.

"Show that he has the ability to lead us to where we want to go," Shanahan said. "And I think that’s everyone in this league. Everyone’s goal in this league is to have an opportunity to go all the way. I think first and foremost, people are going to always look at the quarterback first. He’s the guy who touches the ball every play. Depending on that level, that helps you the most. There definitely isn’t 32 of those in the world. So, by no means do you have to be one of those top five guys, but you have to show the ability that you can build things around a person who gives you the chance no matter what type of defense you go against, that he’s got the ability to make those throws, he’s got the ability to make some off-schedule plays and he’s the type of person who can handle all the stuff that goes with it.”

Considering the Niners' salary-cap situation and the strong likelihood they will have a top-five pick or better in the 2018 draft, it's safe to assume Beathard would have to do something pretty special in the final 10 games for Shanahan and Lynch to entirely eschew a shot at someone like Cousins or Darnold.

In an ideal world, Beathard would light the league on fire and exceed all expectations, thus allowing the 49ers to spend their draft capital and salary-cap space to build around him.

The more realistic scenario is that Beathard will have the ups and downs that most rookie quarterbacks go through but do well enough to put himself in the mix against a potential competitor for the starting job.

First things first: Beathard is working this week to absorb a game plan Shanahan has tailored to his young quarterback's skills. While some coaches believe in paring things down for rookies, there's also something to be said for challenging a young signal-caller to see how much he can take on.

It's a balance Shanahan is trying to strike, and reason enough for Beathard to not allow himself to daydream about the future, no matter how many times he's asked about it.

“I’m really not looking that far ahead right now," Beathard said. "Like I said, I’m just trying to take it one game, one day at a time and stack blocks, have a good day of practice today and a good one tomorrow and a good game on Sunday as a team and finally hopefully get a win.”

^ Back to Top ^