SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Some 49ers players were upset at the perceived lack of respect some fans showed when quarterback C.J. Beathard got hurt and Jimmy Garoppolo warmed up late in Sunday's 24-13 loss at Levi's Stadium to the Seattle Seahawks.
What was left of the crowd began to cheer when Garoppolo ran onto the field for his 49ers debut that would cover the final three snaps.
Linebacker Reuben Foster felt the crowd was cheering before Beathard got up, knowing they would get a chance to see Garoppolo take a snap for the first time in a 49ers uniform.
"First of all, I wanted to say our fans are better than that," Foster said. "You wait until a guy gets up to cheer, not when a guy's down. Then when he' s up, you cheer.
"Then when Jimmy goes out there, you cheer. Give him a pep talk, let him know you're all behind him. But let him you you're behind our (starting) quarterback, too, C.J."
There were only a few thousand fans still in their seats when Beathard was hurt with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter. Rain had moved in and the Seahawks had taken a 24-6 lead with 3:27 to go.
"I don't think it was malicious by our fans, that they were cheering he was injured," left tackle Joe Staley said. "They were excited. But at the same time, you can't do that."
Beathard, who had taken all kinds of abuse from Seattle's defense Sunday, drove the 49ers inside the Seahawks' 23 when he absorbed a hit from defensive end Michael Bennett. Beathard remained on the ground for several minutes and said he did not hear the crowd's reaction.
At that time, a sizable percentage of the people left in the stadium appeared to be Seahawks fans. Still, it didn't sit right with safety Eric Reid, who said: "Our starting (QB) got hurt and people are cheering before he even stands up. That pisses me off. I'm disappointed in our fans. I understand the excitement about Jimmy, he's a great player, but that's not right."
Garoppolo entered the game, rushed once for four yards and completed both of his pass attempts, including a 10-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy as time expired. Beathard, now 1-4 as the 49ers starting quarterback, completed 22 of 38 passes for 201 yards with one interception against the Seahawks. He was sacked three times and hit 13 times.
"The fans, once they started to realize that C.J. was hurt and he got up and was walking off, they were cheering for C.J. coming off," linebacker Brock Coyle said. "So I just think, spur of the moment, they didn't realize that C.J. was hurt. Once they did, they stopped."
