The San Francisco 49ers welcome the Seattle Seahawks to town on Sunday, and as expected, Colin Kaepernick will start the game. Chip Kelly was asked if the team would try and work in either of the other quarterbacks during the game. Kelly told the media Kaepernick will start and play the whole game unless he gets banged up during the game.
Kaepernick will finish the season with 11 games started and played, while Blaine Gabbert had five. The 49ers have seen some positive things at times this season, but they don’t have any sort of clear answer for next year. Well, plenty would argue it is clear they need to figure out something else.
The 49ers will head into the offseason with Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder potentially hitting free agency in March. Colin Kaepernick is signed through the 2017 season, but he has the opportunity to opt out of his contract. Thad Lewis is currently on injured reserve, but is a free agent when the season ends.
Some folks have been clamoring to see Ponder get a chance, but it would seem unlikely to happen. The future of Ponder and/or Gabbert with the team will depend on a variety of factors. We might see a new general manager and/or head coach. We don’t know what will happen with Kaepernick’s contract. The team likely will spend some draft capital on the position, but again, we don’t know how much. All of these factors and probably more will impact what happens with either of the two backups.