The San Francisco 49ers and Chip Kelly have to choose between Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick at the quarterback position. Regardless of who the starter is, the 49ers are going to struggle because of each passer’s flaws.
One of the well documented stories of the NFL offseason has been the changes in the San Francisco 49ers organization. The team brought in Chip Kelly to be their new coach, and initially the hope was that he would be able to resurrect the career of Colin Kaepernick. However, since joining the team, there has yet to be a lick of positive news about the embattled veteran, and it appears as though Blaine Gabbert may beat him out for the starting job.
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Gabbert is not a quarterback you want to have leading your group heading into the season. He sports a career record of 8-27 in 35 starts over five seasons, and he lacks athleticism and decision making skills. Essentially, he is a game manager at best, but because he cannot mentally dissect a defense, he is a very poor starter.
Gabbert did have arguably his best season last year for the Niners, when he started eight games, threw for over 2,000 yards, and had a decent TD-INT rate of 10 to 7. However, he cannot be counted on to lead a team to success. He certainly will not lead the 49ers anywhere, given their lack of playmakers on offense.
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With all of that said about Gabbert, one would think that Kaepernick would have a chance to come in and win the starting job. That does not seem to be the case. His abilities have declined since he led the 49ers on a magical Super Bowl run during the 2013 playoffs. Over the past two seasons, he has simply been ineffective as a passer. NFL Spin Zone’s Luke Sims offered this take as to why that happened in his piece on the decline of Kaepernick:
"The plays he thrived on – including the potent read option – were too gimmicky for long-term success as an NFL quarterback, and he suffered. As defenses wised up to his ability to run, he no longer had a second threat that was more potent than his passing game."
Still, the athleticism and running ability were part of what lead to the team to bring in Kelly as the coach. He was supposed to help mold Kaepernick into a solid starter. However, he was unable to do that in the offseason for one simple reason. Kaepernick could not get on the field.
Kaepernick dealt with some arm fatigue that kept him out of the first couple of preseason games. Normally that would not be a big deal, but many speculated that Kaepernick’s shoulder was in bad shape. He had not played in a game since November of 2015, so it was fair to wonder how his arm got so tired in the first place. The saga went so far that general manager Trent Baalke said this, per CSN’s Matt Maiocco:
#49ers GM Trent Baalke on Colin Kaepernick: "His arm is tired. To say it’s dead, I wouldn’t make that assumption."
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 17, 2016
As if all of Kaepernick’s on the field issues were not enough, another story recently broke that will work against him in the public eye. He has elected not to stand during the national anthem during the preseason. According to a story by NFL.com’s Steve Wyche, Kaepernick said the following in an exclusive interview with NFL Media:
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
Now, what Kaepernick said may be justified, and there is no mandate that says players have to stand during the National Anthem. People have the right to choose to stand or sit during the anthem. That said, it is generally frowned upon by the public when an athlete chooses not to stand or put their hand over their heart for any reason, as we saw with Olympian Gabby Douglas. Kaepernick is facing backlash for his decision and he is quickly becoming less and less popular. Worse than that, he is becoming a distraction to the team.
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So with just a couple of weeks left until the season, the 49ers have a choice to make at quarterback. Do they start a below average quarterback who will give them minimal chances to win? Or do they go with a veteran with an arm injury who could end up being a distraction? No matter who they choose, the 49ers will lose in this quarterback battle. This is one situation where there really will not be a winner.