Other than the discussion surrounding the release of linebacker Ahmad Brooks, there were two other takeaways from San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's press conference on Friday afternoon.
During the 49ers' first preseason game, C.J. Beathard was the number three quarterback behind both Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley. On Saturday against the Denver Broncos, he was the first quarterback off of the bench behind Hoyer. Beathard will get another opportunity to play with the second-team offense on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
In two preseason games, Beathard has completed 14 of his 32 passes for 211 yards, three touchdowns, and a passer rating of 130.6.
Despite being named the primary backup for the second week in a row, Shanahan insisted that no one has won the competition to back up Hoyer yet. Shanahan explained that he has seen what Barkley, who has been in the league since 2013, looks like in an NFL game. He simply wants to continue to get a good look at Beathard before a decision is made.
"I think he's still a work in progress," Shanahan said of Beathard on KNBR Friday morning. "C.J.'s come in. He's been as expected. C.J.'s got abilities to make throws. He'll hang there in the pocket and he does go through progression. I've been excited about C.J. as a guy. You try to get an idea about these guys throughout the draft process and stuff but you never really know until you get around somebody on a day-to-day basis and C.J.'s been a pro.
"He attacks it every single day. He's pretty obsessed with football and he's got a pretty good mind where he's always asking the right questions. He's always attacking it. Usually, when you have someone like that who's got the ability and the game isn't too big for them, the more they play, the more reps they get, the better they become."
RELATED Shanahan: 49ers will be smart with Buckner and Ward
Safety Jimmie Ward, who came off of the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list this week, will not play on Sunday. That means it is possible that Ward may not play at all during the preseason since starters typically do not get any playing time in the final exhibition game. While he remained limited, this week was Ward's first time practicing with his teammates since the 49ers concluded their offseason program in July. He was placed on the PUP list on July 28 with a hamstring injury as training camp kicked off.
On Friday morning, Shanahan explained that the team wants to be careful and smart while bringing players like Jimmie Ward and DeForest Buckner (ankle) back from injury.
"Jimmie, just like Buck, we want to be very careful with that," Shanahan said. "Anytime you're dealing with a hamstring, it can seem 98-percent and you go out and just do one quick reactionary move and then you lose a guy for another month. Jimmie's done a real good job in the practices. He's done a real good job. I do feel if we were going against Carolina, he'd be ready to go but we are definitely going to be smart with him too and wait until he's 100-percent."
