What Should the 49ers do With C.J. Beathard in 2020?

One of the few things to nitpick about the San Francisco 49ers’ 2019 season was that they carried three quarterbacks on the roster.

Rather than give the third string spot to any other position on the team head coach Kyle Shanahan elected to retain C.J. Beathard. For whatever reason, Shanahan just could not part with Beathard and essentially wasted a roster spot for him as the third string quarterback.

Nick Mullens is the clear favorite as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo. Shanahan and his staff are infatuated with him, which is why they tendered him. Mullens is now locked in with the 49ers for the year. Now the question remains: what should they do with Beathard for the 2020 season?

Unless they can somehow find a suitor in a trade to get a draft pick, then Beathard’s days with the 49ers should be over.

It would not be ideal for the Niners to enter the season with three quarterbacks on the roster again. The fact is that if Garoppolo ever goes down, then the 49ers’ season will be derailed. It’s just the reality of the NFL when a team loses their starting quarterback. Look no further than the 2018 49ers. Once Garoppolo went down, the season was essentially over.

Now the 2019 49ers would not have been terrible with him, but Mullens is not leading this team deep into the playoffs or to a No. 1 seed. Just like how 2018 was an example against three quarterbacks, 2019 can also be used as a learning experience. The plague of injuries that hit the 49ers was insane.

They did manage to overcome them, but it isn’t something that should be taken for granted.

San Francisco still needs to swing the third string quarterback spot over to any other position. Edge rusher would be wise since Dee Ford’s health is always an uncertainty. Beathard carries no value for the 49ers. It’s likely why they will not be able to trade him to a team because teams know that.

The 49ers should just cut Beathard outright if they still view Mullens as the backup to Garoppolo. However, I can definitely envision a scenario where the Niners end up keeping all three quarterbacks again. Shanahan has a soft spot for these guys, so it will be curious to see when the time comes what he decides on with Beathard.

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