The 49ers’ Week 12 game against the Seattle Seahawks was earmarked by many as the likely debut for new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but C.J. Beathard’s performance against the Giants last Sunday has largely changed that narrative. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said on KNBR Monday that he believes Beathard will continue to be the starter until he loses, and 49ers’ beat writer Matt Maiocco also implied that Beathard is likely to start vs. Seattle, as there isn’t “great urgency to get (Garoppolo) to play.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter had a different take when he joined Murph & Mac on Thursday, however, sticking with his prediction that Garoppolo would start his first NFL game in over a year against the Seahawks.
“I think they were hoping to get that done for next week,” Schefter said. “Look, they get some time off, they get to discuss it, mull it. Again, I’m guessing here. I’m guessing. But my guess would be, that when they come back, my guess – I emphasis ‘guess’ – is that Garoppolo would start against Seattle when they come back, and they get a look. So we’ll see how that works out. We’ll see how they decide to handle that. It’s nothing official. There’s nothing decided that I know but that would be my guess of the way it would go.”
After three ineffective performances in losses to the Cowboys, Eagles, and Cardinals, Beathard had the best start of his young career on Sunday, completing 19-of-25 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns, and posting a QB rating of 123.4.
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Schefter’s comments on the 49ers’ QB situation, skip to 1:00