San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard surprised head coach Kyle Shanahan by returning to practice Sunday after attending his grandfather's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Second-year San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard had a free pass to miss Sunday's training camp session, as he was attending his grandfather Bobby Beathard's induction ceremony to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the young quarterback made it back early, much to head coach Kyle Shanahan's surprise.
"He surprised the heck out of me," Shanahan told reporters following the Niners practice. "I was in the middle of calling a play, and he was just staring at me. It shocked me. I didn't think he'd be here until after practice."
The younger Beathard wasn't going to ask if he had permission to attend the ceremony. Fortunately for Beathard, Shanahan and Co. made the decision for him, essentially telling him to go.
"I know it means a lot to him," Shanahan said last week (h/t 247 Sports). "He would never tell us, and he definitely didn't ask. Then when I told him he had to go and he didn't have a choice, then he told us how thankful he was. Yeah, he's going to go there Saturday, which is a day off, so it works out well. Unfortunately, with this west coast time difference that I've gotten used to in the last year, he's got to fly back Sunday morning and he won't get here until like practice starts. He'll probably miss that practice that Sunday ..."
Well, Beathard didn't miss Sunday.
According to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, Beathard made his grandfather's private party before the ceremony, attended the ceremony itself in Canton, Ohio and flew out of Cleveland at 6 a.m. to return to Santa Clara.
"He texted me that his flight was at 3 a.m., West Coast time," tight end George Kittle said, via Maiocco. "I was like, 'Oh, geez, have fun with that, man.'"
The elder Beathard spent a brief stint as a player with the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers in 1959 and 1961, respectively. But he was known far more for his efforts as a talent evaluator and general manager, where he gained his fame. Bobby Beathard worked as the Redskins GM from 1978 through 1988 and then worked the same position with the Chargers from 1990 through 2000 before retiring.