Gabbert throws early TD before Texans rally past 49ers 24-13

Neither general manager Trent Baalke nor coach Chip Kelly was available for comment on the Ponder signing. Even if he can’t play himself into the job yet, there’s still a chance Gabbert could play himself out of it.

Asked if there was a possibility Kaepernick could miss the upcoming sessions in Denver – the 49ers will scrimmage the Broncos Wednesday and Thursday before their game Saturday – Kelly said he didn’t think so. But the 49ers may do everything they can to keep Kaepernick off the field during the coming season, so he stays healthy and they can cut ties easily next spring.

If Kaepernick can’t participate this week, it’s nearly impossible to imagine he could make up that time; if Kaepernick can participate but is flat, it’s just as hard to see him leaping over Gabbert as long as Gabbert is healthy and avoiding major offensive cataclysm.

After the preseason game in which San Francisco 49ers’ lost by 24-13 to the Houston Texans, head coach Chip Kelly insists Kaepernick’s shoulder tightness will not be a lingering issue. On the plus side, there was the dominant running game that surely brought a smile to Kelly’s face and a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blaine Gabbert to tight end Vance McDonald. Gabbert managed to finish 3 carries for 18 yards and 4-of-10 for 63 yards with one touchdown.

Instead, as Gabbert eats up every first-team rep, Kaepernick is literally going through the motions. So when he was being held out of practice last week for knee soreness, those close to Clowney will have to forgive the collective eye roll from the entire city of Houston – the “here we go again” eye roll, if that helps you. “I’m not talking today”, Kaepernick said.

Kaepernick sat out the 49ers preseason opener versus the Houston Texans on Sunday.

“I don’t look at it as a leg up”, Kelly said via the San Jose Mercury News.

After what Gabbert just showed us, who could blame him?

“So if Colin gets in there and does a great job when he’s in, I’m not going to say, ‘Well, he didn’t get as many snaps as Blaine'”. They could only win two games, but by the same end, we have seen a highly successful Kaepernick lead a team to the Super Bowl. This quarterback carousel, the one making 49ers fans nauseous, could realistically last until after the third preseason game against the Packers.

They didn’t move him, and it’s reasonable to assume that part of it is because Kelly wanted to see what he could do. Goff had two other passes dropped by rookie receivers Pharoh Cooper and Michael Thomas, and the former California star was sacked once.

At some point in that scenario the 49ers could then-maybe at the half-way point of the season, if the season is going smoothly-decide to shut Kaepernick down totally, the way Washington did with Robert Griffin III last season (at an earlier date in the season).