790 days passed between games for San Francisco 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard, going to Saturday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. In the meantime, Beathard endured the suffering of a lifetime.
Earlier this week, Beathard noted the one-year anniversary of the death of his younger brother, Clayton, who had been stabbed to death outside a bar in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 21, 2019. On the same day of that painful birthday , Beathard was told he would start against the Cardinals.
On Saturday, Beathard, driven by a stifling defense and a career performance by running back Jeff Wilson Jr., led the Niners to a surprising and cathartic 20-12 victory against Arizona at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
“It means more than I can really put into words,” said Beathard. “Everything I went through last year and since my brother’s birthday passed away, it’s just one of those things that you can’t really put into words … You can’t write a script, different. I couldn’t choose that to go the way it came out. “
While Beathard, 27, was looking for the best way to explain his emotions after doing 13 from 22 to 182 yards and three touchdowns, the significance of Saturday’s victory can be found in his haircut and the jacket he was wearing.
On Thursday, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan noted that Beathard cut his hair for the first time in a year. Asked why he chose to cut it this week, Beathard said he was growing it because his brother liked his long hair, so he wanted to keep it for him.
When he chose to cut it this week, Beathard acknowledged that it was part of his healing process.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve been able to cut for a year,'” said Beathard.
Standing on the podium with his freshly cut brown hair, Beathard wore a black jacket with the word “King” emblazoned on the right and a photo of Clayton on the left. It was a gift from Clayton’s pastor near where he went to college at Long Island University, a gift that Beathard said that brought him to tears when he received it.
“It means a lot to me,” said Beathard. “First of all, the King is our lord and savior Jesus Christ and this is very ironic with me just because my younger brother’s middle name is King. He was Clayton. King Beathard was his full name. And my other brother, Tucker, dedicated his album to Clay and was called ‘King’. “
Beathard hadn’t started a game since October 28, 2018, which coincidentally was an 18-15 loss to the Cardinals in the same building where the teams met on Saturday.
It was the final match that Beathard made after five consecutive losses by replacing Jimmy Garoppolo, who tore his ACL in week 3 of that 2018 season. Nick Mullens replaced Beathard for the rest of the season and took his second job behind Garoppolo in 2019 and this season too. .
But with Garoppolo eliminated with an ankle injury and Mullens falling into the injured reserve this week due to an elbow problem, Beathard was back in the fight against the Cardinals, as the Niners had no other options.
The fact that Beathard managed to achieve such a performance after a devastating year came as no surprise to Shanahan and Beathard’s teammates.
“You could feel it during the practice week, he came on Wednesday when he got his reps so ready to go,” said Shanahan. “I think you could tell how hard they played for him too. I was very impressed with CJ and very happy for him today.”
Beathard is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, something he won’t worry about until 6-9 Niners spend the end of next weekend against the Seattle Seahawks.
For now, he is leaving an indelible mark on his teammates in an otherwise arduous season in San Francisco.
“I have always been very inspired by CJ,” said defender Kyle Juszczyk. “Just how this guy just resists, regardless of what happened to him and the circumstances. This guy has been through a lot in the past two years. I felt like he was being judged unfairly in his early years in the league and how difficult it was to play as a rookie and a sophomore with the squad we had at the time.
“When he got his chance, like he did tonight, I felt like he would run with her. I’m sure he could tell you about all the plays he would like to play better. But I’m just going to tell you the guy inspires us a lot and we are very happy to go there and introduce ourselves to him. “