The San Francisco 49ers return to practice on Wednesday, and it will be preceded by media availability. Normally, that includes Kyle Shanahan and the starting quarterback. C.J. Beathard has been that guy the past few weeks, but things are in the process of changing.
This week, the 49ers will have Beathard available, but they will also have Jimmy Garoppolo available. It does not mean things are changing soon, but it’s an interesting dynamic as the bye week approaches.
Garoppolo is not expected to start this weekend, but Shanahan said on Monday that the quarterback would be ready to replace Beathard if the latter got hurt. Shanahan was asked if the team would consider bringing in another quarterback as a bridge if Garoppolo was not yet ready. It was a slightly feisty exchange in which Shanahan said Garoppolo is in a better position than any potential other addition to the roster.
Beathard’s been getting hit a lot. If he goes out in the next game, would QB Jimmy Garoppolo be your quarterback?
“Yes.”
I thought you were planning on waiting on him?
“Well, there are two quarterbacks on our roster, so who else would you suggest?”
Would you consider bringing in a third quarterback as a bridge until Garoppolo’s ready?
“Who is that third quarterback?”
Someone on the practice squad or someone who’s a free agent, maybe QB Matt Barkley?
“No, we feel Jimmy is about where they would be, especially with them not being with us the last few months. You’d have to cut other players to do that. And we don't have that leeway right now just to cut a lot of other guys. Everybody's playing a role on our team right now with the injuries we have. If you can't IR guys, you don’t lose that spot. So, we really don’t have the room for that right now.”
So you won't be looking at quarterbacks tomorrow?
“No.”