49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was held out of Sunday’s preseason game against the Texans as he deals with a “dead arm,” reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). San Francisco hopes that Kaepernick will be healthy enough to participate in Saturday’s contest against the Broncos, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes.
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“Colin isn’t 100 percent and it wouldn’t have been fair to put him in and judge him in a competition,” head coach Chip Kelly said Sunday night. “…It’s nothing that’s a long-term thing. It’s just a day-to-day thing. He said he feels better as we go, but we’re not going to push him so we can have a proper evaluation.”
Kaepernick, of course, is locked in a battle with Blaine Gabbert for the 49ers’ starting quarterback job, though how open the competition is remains a question. In fact, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweeted last night that Gabbert has been the “landslide favorite” for weeks. However, Gabbert wasn’t overly effective in limited action against Houston, as he completed only four of 10 passes while throwing one touchdown.
If Kaepernick’s injury does turn into a long-term issue, San Francisco could be forced to add another quarterback to its roster. Backup signal-caller Thad Lewis tore his ACL in last night’s contest and is out for the season, meaning the Niners have only two healthy quarterbacks available: Gabbert, and sixth-round rookie Jeff Driskel.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jeff Driskel, the next Tom Brady.
Please stop
He will not cheat unless BB gets his hands on him so don’t even start calling him a cheater now!
Are we going to hear more how Colin fits right in perfect with Chips O? Because he is fast does not mean he fits. Kelly wants a guy who makes quick reads accurate throws and runs as a last resort. Kap makes one read and either throws or runs he throws if the receiver is covered or not and runs the same. If he happens to start it won’t last for long Chip will tire of his poor reads poor throws and runs when he had an open receiver. Kap has been exposed and is not the QB many thought he was. He will see bench duty or be traded before the season begins I doubt they cut him he has value to some team that believes they can fix him.
Kaep was considered a fit because of his mobility. Every team wants a guy who can make quick reads and accurate throws. What made Chip Kelly’s system so unique (and good) in Oregon was that he had a mobile QB who could run the ball on his own every so often…but was able to run bootlegs, be a threat in zone reads, and be able to make plays out of the pocket. Bradford was a poor fit because he wasn’t athletic enough to do that. Kaep is athletic enough to be a perfect fit for Kelly’s system if only he was accurate enough and could make his reads good enough.