C.J. Beathard signs four-year deal with 49ers
C.J. Beathard is another step closer to becoming the first former Iowa quarterback to throw an NFL regular-season pass in more than two decades.
The San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday announced they had signed Beathard, a third-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, to a four-year rookie contract.
Though terms were not disclosed, estimates based on rookie pay scales at OverTheCap.com and Spotrac.com put the total value in the ballpark of $3.1 million with a signing bonus of roughly $700,000.
With that type of investment, it's a good bet that Beathard will be a part of the 49ers' plans in 2017 — most likely with a roster spot. He is considered San Francisco's No. 3 quarterback, with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley in front of him, as training camp approaches.
49ers general manager John Lynch and new coach Kyle Shanahan are Beathard fans. They traded up to get him with the No. 104 overall pick, making him a third-rounder like Joe Montana was once upon a time for San Francisco.
“Aside from the talent, in tight spaces and in tight windows, he can really rip the ball," Lynch said on a recent interview with PFT Live's Mike Florio. "But I think his toughness speaks to me and Kyle. This is a guy that will get hit, stand up — and that seems to be a quality all the great ones have."
Beathard (6-foot-2, 219 pounds) threw for 40 touchdown passes and assembled a 21-7 record as a starter at Iowa.
The last Hawkeye QB to throw a pass in an NFL game was Dan McGwire, who attempted one in 1995 with the Miami Dolphins. McGwire played sparingly in two seasons at Iowa (1986, '87) before transferring to San Diego State, where he became a first-round NFL Draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks.
(Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Mark Vlasic was the last Hawkeye to attempt a pass, in 1991.)