49ers name Colin Kaepernick starting quarterback

“I don’t even know where his contract status is”, Kelly said.

Kaepernick, who is biracial, first made waves during a preseason game in August when he sat during the national anthem to raise awareness about racial issues such as controversial police shootings of African American men. “We’ve had a couple days to digest everything where we are”.

Gabbert has struggled this season for San Francisco (1-4).

He struggled badly in Thursday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals when he was intercepted twice while completing 18 of 31 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown.

On Tuesday, after Chip Kelly announced Kaepernick would get the start, rapper Chuck D offered up this tweet of support.

The mere chance that Kaepernick can play like he did in 2012 and 2013 is the sole reason why the Niners need to give him every possible opportunity, but just keep in mind, the roster is bad.

The San Francisco 49ers are taking a clean slate approach for the final 10 weeks of the regular season. Gabbert had finished the 2015 season strong for the 49ers, replacing Kaepernick, and won the starting job over Kaepernick in training camp this year, in part because Kaepernick was recovering from offseason surgeries.

“I’m ready to play”, Kaepernick said Tuesday.

Kaepernick once was seen as a rising star, leading the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, a game they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

His future can’t be determined by the number of wins the team gets, because frankly, an elite quarterback would have trouble winning with this roster. And for Kaepernick, the last thing he wants is the team keeping him on the bench just so he stays healthy. The 49ers are reportedly trying to eliminate Kaepernick’s injury guarantees in the current deal, and a reworked contract could potentially allow him to void the deal after the 2016 season, allowing him to test free agency. They also covered the spread in all three of those contests, with their latest victory coming in a 30-19 win over the Rams as a 2.5-point road favorite last Sunday in Los Angeles. He is above Ben Roethlisberger (.647), Brees (.545), Newton (.500), Aaron Rodgers (.538) and Andrew Luck (.500).

It was hard to argue that decision, as Gabbert’s numbers this year – 58 percent completions, 890 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions – are uninspiring and nearly a ideal snapshot of his career statistics.

“I don’t like it”, he said. And Kap will be the first to tell you, if you guys have been around here before, I think his playing weight has been around 225, and he’s not at that right now. “I’ll be very forward about that”.