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San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly met with the media today. Of course, one of the hot topics of discussion was the quarterback position. Many felt that Thursday night's contest was a do-or-die game for Blaine Gabbert, who has played poorly for much of the season.
"We haven't talked anything about who's starting at any position," Kelly told the media. He went on to say that the coaching staff is still reviewing game film. Kelly will typically grade the game himself while watching the film. Then they will sit together as a staff and look at what the did well and didn't do well on each play. By the time of the press conference, Kelly had already met with his offensive coaching staff but had not yet met with the defensive staff.
Kelly was asked where Colin Kaepernick was as far as his weight goes. "I couldn't tell you exactly his weight today," Kelly answered. "I think he's in the 215 range."
"He's continuing to work, continuing to get stronger, continuing to get better," Kelly continued. Kelly reminded everyone that Kaepernick is still in the process of getting back to where he was prior to his three offseason surgeries. "I'm just saying, there's not a weight limit on what he has to be to play. It's just what he is right now – he's not the 2013 version of himself where he took a team to the Super Bowl – from a physical standpoint.
Kelly reaffirmed that general manager Trent Baalke is in charge of assembling the roster, but it is the coaching staff that decides on who starts, plays, and doesn't play. Baalke has no influence on that.
"I played him in the first game," Kelly said while answering a question about any possible reluctance to play Kaepernick because of the injury clause in his contract. "So, that kind of answers that question."
Earlier today,
CSN Bay Area reported that there is
some support in the 49ers locker room for Christian Ponder to possibly play. Kelly was asked if Ponder has ever entered the quarterback discussion. "Well, we haven't had a discussion," said Kelly. "So no one's in the discussion right now." Will Ponder be in the discussion when the coaching staff finally has it? "We'll see when we have the discussion," Kelly answered.
According to Kelly, Ponder is not getting any reps outside of the scout team during practices. Gabbert continues to get about 75-percent of the reps with Kaepernick getting the remainder. Throwing Ponder into the equation would take reps away from the other two.
Regarding the perceived wavering support for Gabbert following the loss to Arizona, Kelly warned the media not to read into anything. "I said out entire offense didn't play well," Kelly said. "It's got nothing to do with unwavering support for anybody or anything."
Kelly continued by saying that he doesn't know who is going to start against the Buffalo Bills when they play on October 16 – at any position. He stated that the entire offense played poorly. "Don't rule anything out," Kelly said. "Everybody's on notice," he answered when he was asked if even OT Joe Staley, one of the team's best and most consistent offensive players, was on notice.
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
