Though it seemed liked a surprise to learn on Monday that 49ers quarterback Alex Smith didn’t receive clearance to play despite all signs pointing to him starting eight days after suffering a concussion, the team apparently saw this one coming -- and managed to keep it under wraps.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick received significant practice reps on Saturday, which suggests that the coaching staff was accelerating the efforts to get Kaepernick ready to play.
It also suggests the existence of a certain amount of gamesmanship regarding the Smith concussion, with the team concealing Smith’s status in the hopes of achieving a strategic benefit via the Bears spending their time preparing to face Smith.