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Colin Kaepernick has made a lot of headlines recently with his national anthem stance, but he remains No. 2 in the San Francisco 49ers' pecking order. The 49ers named Blaine Gabbert as their starting quarterback on Saturday, leaving Kaepernick as the backup and Christian Ponder as the third stringer heading into the Sept. 12 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
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Kaepernick missed most of the offseason recovering from injuries and developed an issue with this throwing shoulder that sidelined him for part of the preseason, giving Gabbert more of an edge.
Coach Chip Kelly said the decision to choose Gabbert came down to more than just the preseason.
"The whole body of work from April until today," Kelly responded. "He's a good fit for what we want to get accomplished, and I have a lot of confidence in what he can do for us offensively."
Kelly assured that Kaepernick would be ready to go if called upon in the opener to come on in relief, but maybe not 100 percent ready physically to start an NFL game.
"Kap is still ... coming out and getting himself ready," Kelly said. "He has been cleared to play, but he still knows he has some work to do. He's not up to his playing weight that he was when he was successful here. He'll continue to work on that.
"He missed a couple weeks with the arm, and that set him back a little bit in terms of his ability to compete for it. But the timetable is the timetable. And right now we feel like Blaine is the starter."
Kaepernick completed 11 of 18 passes in San Francisco's 31-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Thursday to end the preseason.
He once again didn't stand for the national anthem. On this occasion, Kaepernick knelt while it was playing as he continues his stand against racial inequalities and police brutality.
Kaepernick is guaranteed $11.9 million in salary and can make another $2 million in bonuses involving playing time.
