San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins announced today that quarterback Colin Kaepernick will start against the New York Jets when the two teams play on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
Kaepernick was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert during the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears. Prior to being pulled, Kaepernick completed just one of his five passes for four yards.
"Kap's going to be the starter and we'll go from there," Modkins told the media today. "We just decided during the game to try to see if Blaine could give us a spark and Kap's back to being a starter. It's nothing other than that."
Modkins was asked if there were any internal discussions about possibly starting Christian Ponder at quarterback. "No," Modkins answered. He was then asked if Ponder would remain inactive. "We'll see," Modkins said. "We'll see how it goes."
Prior to Sunday's loss in Chicago, Kaepernick had thrown for 1,110 yards with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions in his previous four games. On Sunday morning, it was reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media that Kaepernick would indeed void the remainder of his contract and test free agency in March.
Head coach Chip Kelly did not meet with the media on Monday because he is not currently with the team. He remained on the East Coast to be with his family following the passing of his father, Paul Kelly, on Friday night.