San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly met with Bay Area media prior to practice for the final time of the 2016 season. Whether or not it is the final time ever will be determined by what happens following the 49ers' Week 17 contest against the Seattle Seahawks. There have been reports stating that Kelly's job with the 49ers is safe and contradictory reports stating that his job may depend on what occurs at the general manager position.
Regardless, Kelly met with the media again – as he has done multiple times a week throughout the season. Of course, Kelly will meet with the media following the 49ers' game against the Seahawks, but those press conferences are typically for any media outlets that cover the game and are not just attended by local media and beat writers.
Below are some takeaways from what Kelly had to say on Thursday morning.
No Veterans Say They Are Retiring
Kelly confirmed that none of the older veterans have come up to him and said that Sunday's game against Seattle would be their last.
Joe Staley's Availability for Sunday
"We'll see how today goes," Kelly said regarding OT Joe Staley's availability for Sunday. "He has trained on Tuesday and Wednesday. A lot of the times with that type of injury, the muscle injury, is really to see what the effect is after the training sessions and today will be a hard day for him. So today's going to be a big test for Joe and then how does he respond when he gets back here tomorrow morning? Is there any residual soreness? How does he feel from it? But so far, in the two days of work, he's still been limited in practice. He hasn't gone full in practice so he's still off to the side with the strength and conditioning coaches and then comes over during the team aspect of things.
"We'll see if we can ramp up his work a little bit today and that will give us a better understanding of where he'll be on Sunday."
Kaepernick Will Play the Entire Game against Seahawks
Kelly confirmed that QB Colin Kaepernick would play the entire game against the Seahawks unless there is an injury that forces him out. "We're trying to go win the football game," Kelly said. "Kap will play unless he gets banged up."
Trent Brown Has a Great Mentor in Joe Staley
"I've seen improvement in Trent in terms of understanding what he's capable of," Kelly said when asked about 49ers OT Trent Brown. "He's got a lot in his body. He's got a world of talent and I think he's starting to harness that right now. I think he can continue to work and continue to do that and become a really, really dominant player in this league.
"There's times when there's flashes and you're like, 'Wow. That was a heck of a play.'"
"The fortunate thing for him, he doesn't have to look very far to see kind of how it's done as when as when he watches Joe [Staley] because Joe practices that same exact way," Kelly continued. "What you see on Sundays from Joe Staley is exactly how he trains on a Tuesday. Everything is meticulous. He's very detailed in his steps that he takes. Where his hand placement is. All those things are extremely important to Joe even though he's been in the league 10-plus years. That's why Joe's been in the league for 10-plus years and why he's been such a successful player.
"I think Trent's learning from Joe and I think it's a good relationship. Nobody that's an offensive line guy is better to learn from than Joe and I think Trent's trying to follow in those footsteps."