It seems just about everybody to have a different opinion on who should start at quarterback for the 49ers when they host the Seattle Seahawks on November 26. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network argued that C.J. Beathard should continue to play after his impressive performance against the Giants last weekend, and general manager John Lynch reiterated that stance in an interview with 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco.
However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on KNBR Thursday that he would guess it’s Jimmy Garappolo who gets his first start in over a year vs. Seattle, something that many assumed would be the case when the 49ers shockingly traded for him two weeks ago.
Former 49ers Hall-of-Fame quarterback Steve Young went a step further when he joined Tolbert & Lund Thursday afternoon, saying that Garoppolo has to start vs. Seattle, and that the 49ers need to get him on the field as soon as possible.
“I think they have to,” Young said when asked if Garoppolo should play after the bye week. “They have to put him on the field. They can’t hide him and they’ve got to know. Now that they won a game, they’re playing better, people are healthy, 100 percent they have to get him on the field.
“Has to play immediately. He’s got his weeks in. It’s best case scenario now, they’re not 0-10, 0-11. I really feel like he has to get in after the bye. The problem is if C.J. wins again — I think C.J. showed not just toughness but he played pretty well — so then you say to yourself ‘do we really just not want to continue to see a little bit from C.J?’ So I think there’s some sense of that, but right now Garoppolo has the floor.”
Young also said that it’s impossible to know exactly what the 49ers have with Beathard at this point.
“No. I think when you don’t have any protection and you’ve got a team that’s reeling…I think you see that he’s resilient, he’s tough, how good he can be? We don’t know.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Young’s comments on Garoppolo, skip to 9:40.