Why the 49ers should move on from these 3 players in 2020

No. 2: Quarterback C.J. Beathard

There was a lot of hype around the 49ers’ selection of quarterback C.J. Beathard in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. The Iowa product promised all of the goodies Kyle Shanahan valued: good football IQ, a good arm, toughness and fearlessness in the pocket.

But when Beathard got his shot to lead the team, fans were left wanting much, much more.

Watching Beathard play after all that hype was a lot like watching the movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby after seeing the trailer, then immediately wanting your money back.

Beathard took his first snaps in Week 6 of 2017 against the Washington Redskins, where he completed 19 of 36 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception. While this may not seem awful, keep in mind the first 10 minutes of Talladega Nights were bearable.

Of the six games he started in 2017, he only led the team to one win. Beathard’s career stats don’t paint a rosier picture, either. He’s played 13 games, thrown for 2,682 yards for 12 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, has four rushing touchdowns and eight fumbles.

It would’ve been nice to see more of this:

Per Sportrac, Beathard carries a $1.2 million cap hit and a dead cap value of $176,572 in 2020.

Trying to shop Beathard to quarterback-needy teams this offseason may not yield much, if anything at all, given his stats. So this coming year might be the perfect time to part ways, since roughly only $706,000 is guaranteed on his $3.5 million contract.