49ers insider Matt Maiocco was a guest on 95.7 The Game's morning show on Tuesday and touched on the quarterback situation in San Francisco.
Through two games this season, starter Blaine Gabbert has a passer rating of 74.4. Only once in the last four seasons has Gabbert had a rating lower. The quarterback play so far this season has left many fans wondering if a change at the position might come sooner rather than later.
"He's our starter and I've got a lot of confidence in Blaine," said head coach Chip Kelly on Monday. "So, we're not thinking or talking about not having Blaine in there. It's about everybody on offense playing better right now."
Many within the media have believed that – if a change were to take place – the most logical time to do so would be during the team's Week 8 bye. Maiocco believes that – if a change were to take place – that there may be an earlier window to do so.
"I think the first time where you can really look at – ok, if this continues, where Gabbert is just kind of muddling around a little bit, not doing much of anything – it would be after that Thursday night game," said Maiocco. "Because obviously Gabbert's going to be the starter this week. I would assume that he would be the starter the next week against the Cowboys. And then you have that short week against Arizona. So I just don't see a quarterback change really being on the table or up for discussion until after that Arizona game.
"And then you have – what would that be? Five games in the books? You'd be able to re-evaluate a little bit. Where is this offense going? And then if you want to make a change, you have a long week to do it."
Maiocco went on to say that Colin Kaepernick's popularity in the locker room, while still not as high as Gabbert, has grown compared to last year. "I think when you look at where he was last year, it was not a great situation in that locker room," Maiocco said. "He would wear his Beats around. He would kind of keep his head down. He wouldn't talk to anybody. He just acted like he didn't want to be there. He just seems to be a lot more open and his personality has come out a little bit more. So I would say from a year ago to where it is now, his status in the locker room is in much better shape."
You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game.