The San Francisco 49ers have planned to remain patient with the newly acquired Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s just over a week into his tenure with the team, and needs to acquire a broader understanding of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s playbook before starting.
But unlike last week when Shanahan outright named rookie C.J. Beathard the team’s starter against Arizona, Shanahan has not yet gone that far this week.
In fact, Shanahan left open the possibility that Garoppolo could in fact start Sunday against the New York Giants.
Kyle Shanahan said he expects C.J. Beathard to start on Sunday vs. NY Giants. Jimmy Garoppolo, again, will be the only other QB in uniform for #49ers. But Shanahan said he reserves the right to change his mind.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) November 8, 2017
This would be a dramatic reversal from last week, when Shanahan also left open the possibility that Garoppolo could sit for the remainder of the season (more on that here).
San Francisco enters Week 10’s contest with a league-worst 0-9 record. For his part, Beathard has struggled in three starts to open his career. He’s completing just over 50 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four picks.
Not all of that is on Beathard. San Francisco has north of 20 players currently on injured reserve, including eight on the offensive side of the ball. The rookie has also been sacked a ridiculous 16 times in 177 drop backs this season.
One has to wonder if this is the right situation for the 49ers to put Garoppolo into. He’s seen as a franchise cornerstone, and the team wants the youngster to get reps. With that said, there’s just not a lot of help on offense in San Francisco right now.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this.