C.J. Beathard's four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers have been a roller coaster ride of peaks and valleys. But if he happens to be in his final days with the team, he couldn't have chosen to end it in a better way.
Beathard has seen his share of reps as the starting quarterback since being selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft but has also seemed like the odd man out at times ever since Nick Mullens moved into the No. 2 role in 2018. He's been forced to wait his turn since then, while also experiencing a stunning tragedy along the way when his brother Clay was stabbed to death at age 22 outside a Nashville bar on December 21, 2019.
Roughly one year after his brother's death, Beathard was given the chance to start for the first time since 2018 after an elbow injury to Mullens opened the door for Beathard to get the nod against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. Beathard responded with the most memorable showing of his NFL career, going 13-of-22 for 183 yards and three touchdowns while leading the 49ers to a 20-12 upset win in Arizona.
It was a perfect moment for Beathard, whose four-year rookie contract is slated to come to an end after the season. He showed poise and command during the game and held his head high after the game when thinking about what the moment meant for him and his family.
"It means more than I can really put into words," Beathard told reporters after the win. "Everything that I've been through the last year and this being the year anniversary of my brother passing, it's just one of those things that you can't really put it into words other than the fact it's just God. You can't write a script any different. I couldn't have hand-picked this to go the way it did."
Beathard clearly had Clay in his heart and mind Saturday, as he was wearing a jacket with his brother's image on the right side and his brother's middle name (King) on the left. He was also sporting a fresh new haircut, having decided to move on from the long locks he wore throughout 2020 in honor of his brother.
"I hadn't gotten it cut since my brother passed," Beathard said. "He always liked the long hair, so I kind of kept it going really for him, as little as that is. I knew it's been a year now, so I can cut it. That's really what my thoughts were behind that whole thing.
While Beathard's performance may have come as a surprise to some, it didn't to his teammates, who expected him to shine once he was given a chance. Beathard showed a spark during the week at practice and it carried over to Saturday, when he outshined Cardinals star Kyler Murray en route to an unexpected win.
"I can't imagine what C.J. and his family have gone through in the last year," said tight end George Kittle, who has been a friend of Beathard since their college days at the University of Iowa. "But I knew that when C.J. had the opportunity to play again, he was going to play inspired. He did that today. Rep after rep, he looked like a veteran quarterback back there."
Beathard's play was inspiring to watch given what he has been through on a personal level, but it was also enjoyable to see him deliver such a strong showing after spending most of the season on the sidelines while Mullens got the bulk of the reps this season in place of injured starter Jimmy Garoppolo. Beathard's response to going from a starter to third-string over the years has helped win over his teammates, including running back Jeff Wilson, who put up a career-best 183 yards on Saturday.
"Everybody loves C.J. The whole team," Wilson said. "Especially me, because I kind of personally know what he's dealt with on a level I've actually been through with myself. So to stay upbeat, to stay positive, to keep encouraging people when you're not playing or you're not getting in or you're not getting what you feel like you deserve, and to stay upbeat off that, that's tremendous. That's why everybody loves him, and that's why people don't mind breaking their neck for him."
Oddly enough, Beathard drew inspiration of his own from his teammates heading into Saturday's game. There was certainly a desire on his end to win one for Clay, but he also didn't want to let down the other players on the team considering what they've all had to go through after being forced to move their home games to Arizona for the month of December
"With everything that we've been through, it being Christmas, it was kind of a weird week practice-wise where a bunch of stuff was moving around," Beathard said. "A lot of guys were sitting in their hotel rooms by themselves during Christmas, not with their families. I just credit all those guys with the way they came out here today. They inspired me more than anything."
Also impressed and inspired with Beathard's performance was head coach Kyle Shanahan, who gave a glowing review after the game.
"I think C.J. played awesome," Shanahan said. "I thought he made some plays in the pass game. He did a good job on the zone reads. I'm not sure how many we called, but all his decision making was perfect on it. When he did pull it, he got a number of plays. Just his leadership out there and the way the guys gravitated to him, you could feel it during the week of practice. He came in on Wednesday, when he first got his reps, just so ready to go. I think you can tell how hard they played for him too. I was very impressed with C.J. and very happy for him today."
Beathard will have at least one more game in the starting lineup for the 49ers, as he'll be under center again next Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks come to Arizona. Where his relationship with the 49ers goes from there will be determined in the offseason, and whether or not he can pull off a repeat performance against a tough Seahawks team remains to be seen. But he and his teammates will try to ride the wave for one more week, surely continuing to find inspiration from one another along the way.
"I kind of knew going into it," Beathard said. "Just feeling the vibe of the locker room, the vibe at practice, guys going out there with nothing to lose, really just inspiring each other. It was really awesome this week."