Colin Kaepernick won’t be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers until he puts on some muscle.
It sounds like a silly thing to say, especially for a professional athlete. But such is the situation around Kaepernick, who currently watches from the sidelines while Blaine Gabbert acts as the starter.
Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle summed up the situation with a quote from head coach Chip Kelly:
On Monday, Kelly, again, noted Kaepernick wasn’t at his previous playing weight of 225 pounds after his offseason rehab from three surgeries kept him out of the weight room.
“To get the full Kap for what you need — the potential that he has — he needs to continue to just work on the physical aspect of things,” Kelly said.
Kaepernick wasn’t shy to admit he understands the situation: “I think it’s the fact that my weight isn’t where it was.”
One can look at the picture above and see Kaepernick isn’t close to his former playing weight.
It’s hard to tell if Kelly would pull Gabbert from the lineup if Kaepernick makes weight. Gabbert was decent for the team over eight games last year, completing 63.1 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns to seven interceptions. This year in Kelly’s system, Gabbert has a trio of interceptions and picks over three games, though he already has 75 rushing yards and a score.
If Gabbert implodes and Kaepernick is close to the desired weight, a change might happen.
Until then, from an on-field standpoint, NFL fans will keep talking about Kaepernick like he’s a prize fighter trying to make weight.
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