49ers should move on from these 5 players in 2020
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: Quarterback C.J. Beathard
2020 Projected Cap Hit: $1,122,751
The 49ers elected to keep three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster throughout the regular season last year: Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard.
Given how valuable a roster spot could be this upcoming campaign, one could easily see why Kyle Shanahan won’t do the same thing again in 2020.
There’s speculation whether or not the Niners would keep Beathard over Mullens or vice versa. On one hand, Mullens appears to be the more competent and worthy signal-caller. But he also has some trade value, whereas Beathard likely has none. Yet Shanahan seems to like Beathard enough, and the Niners may want to capitalize on Mullens’ trade value anyway, given how short they are on draft picks for this spring.
Still, Beathard’s 1-9 regular-season record is indicative enough of his on-field abilities, and it’s likely he’ll never be anything more than a reserve option at the pro level.
Beathard has $1,122,751 remaining in the final year of his rookie deal, which is a lot of money to dish out for a third-string quarterback who’ll never find himself on the active-players list, barring injury.
It’s pretty understandable why San Francisco’s best course of action would be to cut its losses on the former third-round NFL Draft pick this offseason, opening up the door for a cheaper third-string alternative to back up Mullens and Garoppolo.