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Chip Kelly on Colin Kaepernick’s first practice: “I was impressed with him”
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Colin Kaepernick has been practicing with his San Francisco 49ers teammates this week. It was a bit of a surprise considering a report earlier this week that he would not be cleared medically to do so and head coach Chip Kelly's statement on Tuesday that the quarterback would only participate in individual drills.
Not only did Kaepernick participate in individual drills, but he also participated in 7-on-7 drills. He only sat out 11-on-11 drills. Prior to that, Kaepernick had only been throwing on the side with trainers and mimicking the quarterback motions on the practice field. Although, on Thursday of last week, he was seen throwing the football on the practice field.
Kaepernick is scheduled to speak with the media on Thursday following the team's final practice. It will be the first time he has done so since the end of the 2015 season.
RELATED Transcript: Chip Kelly talks Colin Kaepernick's practice, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, and more
So what did Kelly think of Kaepernick's first practice? "I thought Colin did a good job yesterday for a guy that hadn't taken reps, except some things on the side, to step in, the biggest thing is the decision making and I thought he did a really good job with that," said Kelly on Wednesday morning. "That meant he stayed on top of things from the meeting, now he's transferring it to the field. For the first day back, I was impressed with him."
What of his statement a day before that Kaepernick would only take part in individual drills?
"We didn't have any plan going in. It was just what he felt comfortable, you know, as we were moving along and during the course of practice and how many throws he could throw," Kelly answered. "It was up to both of us, but consulting with him on how he feels and certainly not going to push him at this date. We're still just in the first week of June and it's his first time back."
"So, we wanted to make sure we went through everything and kind of not trying to force the issue, just what's the comfort level and continue to build and maybe add a little bit more as we move along here," Kelly continued.
The 49ers close out their mandatory three-day minicamp on Thursday. It will be the final gathering of the players until training camp kicks off in July.
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