After a brief cameo caused by a C.J. Beathard injury, Jimmy Garoppolo will begin his tenure as the 49ers’ starter.
Kyle Shanahan notified the quarterbacks Garoppolo will start against the Bears, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports (on Twitter). This will mark only Garoppolo’s third career start, but it could well be the first of many as a 49er. Shanahan announced the move, and it looks like Garoppolo will have a five-game sample upon which to judge going into the offseason.
Shanahan and John Lynch have been openly cautious about deploying their recently acquired passer, but management appears ready to begin the experiment. While they’ve made it clear this isn’t an audition, with the franchise tag being the likely offseason outcome to further judge if Garoppolo is the long-term solution, the franchise will begin to see if its quarterback of the future is presently on the team.
Garoppolo has thrown 96 career passes, being 2-for-2 with a touchdown toss as a 49er, but has only played one game from start to finish — the 2016 Patriots opener against the Cardinals. He suffered an injury against the Dolphins the following week.
This game being at Soldier Field will mark a unique moment for the Eastern Illinois-developed quarterback; Garoppolo grew up in nearby Arlington Heights, Ill.
Beathard started the previous five games for the 49ers, who acquired Garoppolo midway through that stretch. The rookie suffered knee and hip injuries against the Seahawks and may not have been able to go this week anyway. He figures to return to the backup role he occupied when the season began. Beathard completed 55 percent of his passes and has a 4-to-6 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio for the 1-10 team.
Might be a risk for losing the no 1 pick, Jimmy G messes around and wins a game or two and they might not keep the first pick which they can turn into 4-5 really good picks.
They don’t even currently have the 1st overall pick, the Browns do.
I should have made my self more clear with only 1 win they were in the running to get the no 1 pick. The plan was to try to get the no 1 pick and auction it off to the most QB desperate team they could find. With jimmy g in the line up they risk winning a game of two and killing their chances.
My bad I see what you’re saying now.
There’s so much draftable QB depth. It’s going to b really hard to get the normal Kings ransom for picks this year
Always work hard; you never know what benefits you’ll reap from two good minutes!