“We had a conversation”, the 49ers quarterback said Wednesday, via CSN Bay Area. He still feels good about reigniting the competition with Blaine Gabbert after sitting out the team’s first two preseason games with shoulder soreness.
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Kaepernick will get his first chance to make an impression Friday when the 49ers host the Packers at Levi’s Stadium.
He wouldn’t say whether Kaepernick would start or even whether he would get reps with the first-team offense.
“I’m just anxious about the things I can control, the things I put on the field and the way I lead these guys and lead this football team”, Gabbert said. “We’ve still got a ways to go before we play”.
Kaepernick’s performance in the game will give Kelly and his staff an opportunity evaluate the quarterback in a game environment, something they have not been able to do after Kaepernick missed the first two preseason games.
Kaepernick’s debut is contingent on him experiencing no setbacks from this week’s full return to throwing drills.
Kelly has stated he wants to evaluate Kaepernick in a game, and with the first-team unit, before deciding who’ll start the September 12 regular-season opener. We re going to sit down and find out exactly who s available. We have a system.
And Kaepernick wasn’t going to be pressed any further than that. He didn’t throw for six days, then did some light work on the side before unleashing over 50 passes in Saturday’s pregame warm-ups at Denver.
He called the shoulder fatigue in his right arm, “very, very frustrating”. “Not something I was expecting, but at the same time it was something I had to deal and make sure I was prepared for this coming game”.
“It’s great to be back out there, great to be back practicing with my teammates and getting ready for this next game”, Kaepernick said. “It was something we wanted to make sure we stayed on top of because it is the preseason, and we have a long season ahead of us to make sure everything is going as planned”.
“He’s been sharp with all the things mentally”, Kelly added. Kelly said Buckner’s status will be determined Friday.
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“I don’t think there’s anything different as far as where he stands in the competition”, Modkins said. We’ll see. (Kaepernick is) on track.
