Kyle Shanahan: C.J. Beathard will play when it’s the best decision for the team

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is sticking with quarterback Brian Hoyer despite his struggles. He was asked about C.J. Beathard, as he is every week, following the team’s overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

“C.J. is doing a good job in practice,” Shanahan said. “I think he's gotten better each week, and we'll continue to do that with him, and if we feel it's the best thing for the team, the best thing for C.J. and the players around him, that's when we'll do that.”

Hoyer completed 29 of 46 passes for 353 yards and a pair of touchdowns, which isn’t his worst game yet. But several drives were killed by errant passes, and he’s not particularly good at avoiding pressure.

On the season, Hoyer has completd 115 of 194 passes for 1,211 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion percentage is 59.3, and he’s been sacked 15 times.

“Brian did some good things in that game,” Shanahan said. “By no means was it perfect. I still expect him to play better. I expect us all to play better, expect me to coach better. “

The notes about Beathard doing well in practice are good to see. I still think it’s far too early to be thinking about Beathard playing this season. But it’s good to see that Shanahan isn’t completely shutting the option down.

I expect the 49ers will find another quarterback next season, but it certainly isn’t Hoyer, so seeing Beathard for at least a couple games would be good. Just not yet, I think. And Shanahan seems to feel the same way, too.