On Monday, the New York Giants invited veteran quarterback C.J. Beathard to a workout session, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shared.
The #Giants worked out veteran QB C.J. Beathard.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 30, 2024
This session took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It included other free agents, such as defensive backs Lamar Jackson and Greg Stroman, as well as wide receivers Joseph Ngata, Joseph Scates, Bryan Thompson, and Seth Williams.
Despite the attention that Beathard’s visit drew, it doesn’t look like he’ll be signing with the team anytime soon.
Dan Duggan from The Athletic explained that this workout was routine—just to keep an emergency list ready, not because the Giants have problems with their current quarterbacks.
Art Stapleton from NorthJersey.com added that with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito (on the practice squad) already on the team, there’s no reason to add another quarterback like Beathard right now.
C.J. Beathard, who is 30 years old, has been in the NFL for seven years.
The San Francisco 49ers picked him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft and played there until 2020.
During his time with the 49ers, he completed 60.4% of his passes, threw for 3,886 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions in 32 games (starting 13 of them).
He also got sacked 53 times and had a 3-10 record as a starter.
After leaving the 49ers, Beathard signed a two-year, $5 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021.
He then re-signed with them again for the 2023 season.
As a backup for the Jaguars, he appeared in seven games in 2023, completing 75.5% of his passes for 349 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
But his time with the Jaguars ended when they released him in August 2023 because of a groin injury.
Jaguars’ general manager Trent Baalke shared, “It was a significant injury, and it’s going to keep him away from the ball for a while, at least four weeks of the season. It could be longer, could be shorter. Depends on how quickly he heals and how the rehab goes, but that’s the timeline right now.”
Because he was released with an injury settlement, the Jaguars can’t bring him back until he recovers, plus an extra three weeks.
Meanwhile, other teams are allowed to sign him if they wish.
The Giants’ decision to check out Beathard is part of their usual practice of looking at available players, so they are ready to sign someone later.
Thus, head coach Brian Daboll and his staff are gathering information in case they need to add a new quarterback.
This is a common practice among NFL teams, especially for positions like quarterback.
Even though Beathard has experience and is available, the Giants have Daniel Jones as their starter, Drew Lock as his backup, and Tommy DeVito on the practice squad.
Because of this, it’s unlikely that they’ll bring in Beathard right now.
He remains a free agent for now, but other teams might be interested in him.
With this in mind, the Giants’ workout with Beathard is more about preparing for the future.
If one of their quarterbacks gets injured later in the season, the team will have a better idea of what Beathard can do.
Ultimately, this preparation could be helpful if things change during the unpredictable NFL season.
Moving forward, the Giants may continue to evaluate other available quarterbacks in the coming weeks, just in case they need someone later.