Shortly after reports surfaced of the Detroit Lions working out several players on Wednesday, it appears they’ve quickly reached a deal with one of them.
NFL Network reports the Lions are expected to sign veteran quarterback C.J. Beathard to the practice squad. At least for now, Beathard will be their practice arm in Allen Park behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen.
After the Lions waived Hendon Hooker when he failed to make their 53-man roster, the question of who would serve as the third arm in practice loomed large.
Hooker later cleared waivers, and coach Dan Campbell suggested a change of scenery elsewhere would be best for the young quarterback, leaving Detroit thin at the position.
Beathard, 31, comes to the Lions after spending most of his time since 2020 with the Jacksonville Jaguars on both their active roster and practice squad.
During that span, he also had a short stint with the Miami Dolphins before returning to Jacksonville.
A third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Beathard has thrown for 3,886 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions while completing 60.4% of his passes.
Primarily serving as a career backup, Beathard has played in 32 games with 13 starts, 10 of them coming in his first two seasons in San Francisco.
Along with Beathard, the Lions also worked out journeyman quarterback Nathan Peterman as part of Wednesday’s evaluations.
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