The 49ers benched quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Sunday. It’s unclear whether he’ll remain on the bench next Sunday against the Jets.
“We haven’t had any discussions about it,” coach Chip Kelly told reporters after the loss in Chicago regarding whether Kaepernick will return in Week 14. “It was my decision to make and made a move to see if we can get a spark and to see where we were. At that point of time of the game we were down a couple of scores and obviously we got throw it to see if we can get a spark for the team. There are no permanent decisions.”
Still, it sounds as if Kaepernick will be back, given Kelly’s explanation for making the change.
“I thought we needed a spark on offense and needed to get something going, give Blaine [Gabbert] a shot at throwing,” Kelly said. “Knew we were going to be throwing every down, so give Blaine a shot. That was it, nothing more.”
Kaepernick said he was “surprised” to be benched, and he sidestepped the question of whether he believes he’ll play next week.
“That’s not my decision,” Kaepernick said. “My feelings on it really don’t matter at this point. I’m just going to do everything I can to make sure I’m prepared.”
The 49ers have now lost 11 games in a row, following a Week One win over the Rams. The visit from the Jets, who’ll be crossing the country on a short week, could be their best chance to avoid matching the 2001 Panthers, who won in Week One and then lost 15 in a row.