Mike Silver appeared on NFL Network today from Santa Clara to discuss the San Francisco 49ers and their quarterback situation – along with some Philadelphia Eagles talk. Silver believes that QB Blaine Gabbert is the favorite to win the starting job in San Francisco over Colin Kaepernick.
Silver started by discussing head coach Chip Kelly's impact with the 49ers. "One thing is that Chip Kelly is going to make an immediate impact when you get out on the practice field just off presentation alone. We're talking tempo, energy, speed, and volume. The music blasting. And just talked to Blaine Gabbert a little bit ago and he said 'Look, it's good for us. As a quarterback, we need to learn how to communicate in all sorts of loud and hectic environments so I like the music,'" reported Silver.
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"Blaine Gabbert is a heavy favorite. He's loved in this locker room, did a lot of good things last year and I would be shocked if he's not the quarterback in the opener," Silver said in regards to the quarterback competition itself.
Silver went on to state that Gabbert may not be a tough sell to fans, partly due to Kaepernick's 2015 struggles and how he portrays himself publicly. Silver stated that Gabbert may be a nice story of a guy who resurrects his career, much like Alex Smith did with the 49ers when the team hired Jim Harbaugh as head coach – something that our own Al Sacco touched on in a recent article.
You can watch the entire segment below with the 49ers portion of the discussion starting around 2:35 in.
Silver: Blaine Gabbert is 'heavy favorite' to win starting job
Kaepernick saw a good deal of work during today's team practice as the 49ers kicked off a three-day mandatory minicamp. He worked in individual and 7-on-7 drills, but sat out 11-on-11 work. It was his first extensive participation on the practice field this offseason and a pleasant surprise considering Kelly had stated earlier in the day that Kaepernick would only participate in individual drills.