San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard has not played in 790 days for Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Besides, Beathard is in mourning for his life.
Earlier this week it was the anniversary of the death of his younger brother Clayton, who died on the 21st. December 2019, stabbed to death outside a bar in Nashville, Tennessee. On this painful birthday Beathard was told that he was going against the cardinals.
On Saturday, the Beathard, fed by a suffocating defense and a career record win over Jeff Wilson Jr., led the Niners to a beautiful and cathartic 20-to-12 win over Arizona at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
It means more than I can say, Mr Beathard. Everything I’ve been through this year, and it’s the anniversary of my brother’s death, is one of those things you can’t put into words. … The script can’t be written any other way. I couldn’t choose what it was.
While 27-year-old Beathard was looking for the best way to explain his emotions, scoring 13 of 22 for 182 yards and three touchdowns, the significance of Saturday’s victory was in his haircut and the jacket he wore.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan noted Thursday that Beathard got his first haircut of the year. When asked why he decided to have his hair cut this week, Mr. Beathard said he let it grow because his brother loved long hair and wanted to keep it for himself.
When he decided to stop this week, Mr. Beathard admitted that it was part of his healing process.
So am I: Okay, it took me a year to cut it off, Mr. Beathard.
Fault! The file name is not specified. On Saturday, quarterback C.J. Beathard made his first start from 28th place in the 49ers classification. October 2018. Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Beatard stood on stage, had short brown hair and wore a black jacket with the word King at the bottom right and a picture of Clayton on the left. It was a gift from Reverend Clayton near his study place at Long Island University, a gift that Beathard said burst into tears when he received it.
It means a lot to me, Mr Beathard said. First of all, the King is our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, and he has a lot of irony with me, precisely because the middle name of my little brother is King. His full name is Clayton King Beathard. And my other brother, Tucker, dedicated his album to Clay, and it was called The King.
Beathard’s been doing it since the 28th. In October 2018 no races have started. Coincidentally the Cardinals lost 18-15 in the same building where the teams met on Saturday.
It was Beathard’s last start after five straight losses. He replaced Jimmy Garoppolo, who tore his front cruciate ligaments (ACL) in the third week of the 2018 season. Nick Mullens has replaced Beathard for the rest of the season and has fought for second position away from Garoppolo for the entire 2019 season and this season as well.
But with Garoppolo eliminated due to an ankle injury and Mullens placed in reserve this week due to an elbow problem, Beathard was back in the game against the Cardinals as the Niners had no other options.
It came as no surprise to Shanahan and Beathard’s teammates that Beathard was able to deliver such a performance after a disastrous year.
During the training week you could feel that when he did his first rehearsals on Wednesday he was just finished,” Shanahan said. I think you can see how much they’ve played for him, too. I was very impressed with CJ and I was very happy for him today.
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Beathard will become a free agent at the end of the season, which he won’t have to deal with until next weekend against the Seattle Seahawks in the 6-9 finals of the Niners.
So far in the San Francisco season he has left an indelible impression on his teammates.
I’ve always been very inspired by C.J., said defender Kyle Juszczyk. How this guy lives on, no matter what happened to him or the circumstances. This guy’s been through a lot in recent years. I thought he was wrongly judged during his first two years in the league and how difficult it was to play as a rookie and in his second year with the team we had then.
When he got his chance, like today, I had a feeling he’d take it. I’m sure he can tell you all the things he wants to improve. But I’m just saying that this guy really inspires us and we’re so excited to play for him.
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