The San Francisco 49ers are officially halfway through their 2017 preseason schedule, and have wrapped up their open training camp schedule. There is plenty of evaluation still to be done, but practice is now closed to the media.
Now that we have reached this point, it is time to take a look at where the bubble watch stands. We have not done a formal bubble watch look since late June. We took a look at the potential 53-man roster Monday morning, but for the rest of the week, we will be taking a look at the bubble watch for each position. Today, we move on to the quarterbacks.
Lock: Brian Hoyer, C.J. Beathard
Strong Bubble: Matt Barkley
Weak Bubble: None
Longshot: Nick Mullens
We did not make a change compared to our last QB bubble watch, but Matt Barkley is in a questionable position. C.J. Beathard has done some big things with his opportunity, but I don’t think it’s enough yet to force Barkley off the roster.
For me, it all comes down to Brian Hoyer’s injuries. They have been fairly random and unpredictable but they happen again and again. If you think Hoyer can remain healthy the full season, I can see the argument for releasing Barkley and just going with Beathard. But if you think Hoyer will miss some time, are you comfortable with Beathard starting an extended number of games this season?
I imagine there are some people comfortable with it. And given the rebuilding period the 49ers are currently in, I can see why people might be comfortable with it. For the time being, I don’t know that the 49ers coaching staff is fully prepared to live with that possibility. The next two weeks will tell us a lot. Barkley got second team play in Week 1, and Beathard got it in Week 2. Who will get this weekend when the 49ers travel to face the Minnesota Vikings?