Kyle Shanahan not ready to replace veteran 49ers starters with younger players

The San Francisco 49ers remain winless through their first five games of the season. With so much energy and excitement surrounding the start of the new regime, the failure to win a game has been disheartening for the team and its fans. However, going into the season, growing pains were expected and most fans understood this was a multi-year rebuild and not something that would be fixed in one offseason.

The 49ers have only been part of one blowout this season. It was a 23-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers to open the regular season. Since then, they have lost four-straight games by three-or-fewer points – including two-straight overtime losses.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with the media on Monday and was asked if the team would start looking at other players on the roster given how the start of the season has played out.

"I think it's a fair question, especially when you're 0-5," Shanahan responded. "But, I think my goal right now is I try to keep perspective, I know I said that last week, too, but when you've lost four games in a row by a total of 11 points and all those being three points or less, I know that's happened two times in NFL history, first time since 1994, so I don't want to sit here and just make a ton of changes and totally go that direction. Our guys have been in it and had a chance to win all these games. I'm as disappointed as anyone that they haven't.

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"I also know that we very easily could be 4-1, and I definitely think it's somewhere in the middle of both of those two. I look into all that. I would never do that just to do it, especially at this time. I'm always going to try to do what I think gives us the best chance to win because I still think we're really into this, and I do think we have had a chance to win these games.

"I think we've got to keep getting better, and whether that's with younger guys, older guys, I decide that based on how practice is going and how they look every day."

One move fans have been clamoring for is at quarterback. Much of the Niner Faithful would love to get a good look at rookie C.J. Beathard, who was selected by the 49ers in the third round of this year's draft. Shanahan has repeatedly insisted that starter Brian Hoyer gives the 49ers their best chance to win.

The argument could be made that the team should get a good look at Beathard outside of practices to determine if he can be a franchise quarterback, which could potentially save the 49ers a draft pick or a lot of money next year. However, if Beathard is still too raw to start, throwing the rookie in there now could hurt his confidence. Others have argued that if neither Hoyer nor Beathard is seen as a long-term solution at quarterback, then it may not matter who is in there at quarterback. The 49ers may add a potential franchise quarterback next year via the draft or free agency regardless of what happens with Hoyer or Beathard.