SANTA CLARA, CA — From almost winning the Super Bowl to the sidelines in less than 3 years. The Colin Kaepernick era has ended in San Francisco.
With The 49ers benching their flamboyant starting quarterback, for the lesser-known backup Blaine Gabbert this weekend versus the Atlanta Falcons, Kaep could be in his last days in the red and gold. It seems like last Sunday’s game helped to seal Kaepernick’s fait, with another poor performance loss to the St. Louis Rams 27-6.
Kaepernick completed 20-41 passes his second lowest total of his 56-start career. Coach Tomsula, who was 10 days removed from saying, “Colin Kaepernick is our quarterback”, struck a different cord this week with the move to Gabbert.
Gabbert, a former 2011 first round draft pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars out of Missouri, was acquired by the 49ers via trade in 2014. The 49ers signed him to a two-year, $ 4 million deal last March.
Gabbert, who is 5-22 as starter while posting the lowest passer rating in the NFL since 2011, will face a Falcons defense, which has had its issues putting pressure on the quarterback. The Falcons have tallied a NFL low 10 sacks this season, which is welcomed news for the 49ers offensive line that’s been under fire all year long; with its protection issues.
Blaine was asked last week, if he was he eager to get another chance to start in NFL again, “Listen, we’re here to practice and get better every day, that’s my job”.
Aside from all-pro tight end Vernon Davis getting traded Monday to the Denver Broncos, Kaepernick is the first 49er starter to get benched from an offense that ranks dead last in scoring and total yards. The analysis going forward, are that there will be growing pains ahead for 49er faithful as it seems like the organization has pressed the reset button.