Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was the saving grace for the San Francisco 49ers ever since he came over from the blockbuster trade via the New England Patriots. However the same saving grace has now turned into fortunes for the 49ers. On Monday, the Niners announced that Garoppolo tore his ACL in his left knee while trying to make a cut back towards the sidelines in the loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers were currently in the rebuilding stage as they were putting together the pieces necessary to win games with the help of Garoppolo. This is a huge blow for the 49ers as they currently sit with a 1-2 record and are currently looking at a tall task ahead to climb out of the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams already 4-0 on the season.
Now the 49ers season is in the hands of C.J. Beathard who will be the starting quarterback for at least this week 4 matchup. One of the reasons why the Niners made the blockbuster move was the struggles they were dealing with on offense with Beathard and QB Brian Hoyer leading the team. With the addition of Garoppolo, the Niners would win five straight games as the franchise was taking a turn for good. Because of his historic start in San Fran, the team awarded him with a $137.5 million, five-year contract. However that huge investment the Niners made will have to wait another year to see if it was worth it. As for moving forward, this will be another chance for Beathard to showcase why the team deserves to role with him the rest of the season.
Beathard was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft as fans across the nation were stunned by the pick. The Iowa standout was nothing more than a backup quarterback potential heading into the draft, hence a third round selection put the weight on Beathard to succeed fast and early. It did not take anytime at all for Beathard to get his first regular season action as came in Week 6 of the 2017 season. However his stint with the Niners that season went along the same lines of the embarrassment of the high draft pick. In his five starts with the Niners, Beathard finished with a 54.9 completion percentage, 1,430 passing yards and four touchdowns to a dreadful six interceptions.
With all eyes on Garoppolo, Beathard also got extensive amount of work in the 2018 preseason. He failed to showcase any type of improvement as his passes were inaccurate all preseason long. The blockbuster trade seem to be a win for the Niners as Garoppolo turned the franchise around for them in a matter of weeks. Now the 49ers must dive back into the bad memories as Beathard will take the starting job once more. This could be Beathards last chance for an NFL job as he prepares for the week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
