The San Francisco 49ers will continue giving quarterback C.J. Beathard the No. 2 reps this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday the team would see how practice went before deciding between Beathard and Matt Barkley. On Friday, Shanahan announced Beathard would continue in the role.
The 49ers had Barkley play No. 2 and Beathard play No. 3 in Week 1 of the preseason, and then vice versa in Week 2. Beathard getting the No. 2 reps a second straight week bodes well for his chances, but Shanahan said there is still a competition for the backup role. He said he has seen plenty of Barkley as an NFL quarterback, and wants to see Beathard get some more reps up the depth chart. He could just be covering on that, but it does make some sense given Beathard’s inexperience.
Shanahan said he would like to play the starters through the first half, and then decide at halftime if they will get the first series of the third quarter, or if the team will move to the backups. That would impact how much time Beathard and Barkley are able to split, but if Shanahan knows what Barkley brings to the table, maybe we see Beathard and the 2s get most if not all the second half snaps.