San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been dealing with soreness in his shoulder. The discomfort was enough to keep the quarterback from taking part in team drills on Thursday and Friday. It also sidelined Kaepernick during the team's exhibition opener against the Houston Texans on Sunday.
While he is there with his teammates, Kaepernick is not throwing during today's scheduled walk-through inside Levi's Stadium, per Grant Cohn of the Press Democrat. At the time of this writing, the quarterbacks were warming up. Blaine Gabbert and Jeff Driskel are the only quarterbacks throwing. Not throwing in individual drills is a strong indication that Kaepernick will once again be limited today. The last time he fully participated in a team practice was last Wednesday during the 49ers' open practice at Kezar Stadium.
Colin Kaepernick is not throwing today.
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) August 16, 2016
There has been much speculation regarding the severity of the injury. 49ers head coach Chip Kelly said the injury was day-to-day and hoped that Kaepernick would return to practice this week and be available for the team's second preseason game against the Denver Broncos on Saturday. "It's nothing that's a long-term thing," said Kelly. "It's just a day-to-day thing. He says he feels better as we go, but we're not going to push him so that we can make a proper evaluation of him."
Adam Schefter of ESPN went as far as saying that the quarterback suffered from "dead arm," a sensory reduction or loss in the arm as the result of a shoulder dislocation or subluxation. Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area was very skeptical of the ESPN report and questioned its validity since there has been nothing to indicate an injury that severe had a chance to occur.
#49ers QBs warming up; Colin Kaepernick has not thrown any passes. Gabbert, Driskel only QBs throwing.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 16, 2016
Gabbert started the game against the Texans on Sunday. His performance was described as "up and down" by both himself and his head coach. Gabbert would finish the game 5 of 11 for 66 yards passing and a touchdown. He would also have 18 yards rushing on three carries.
The 49ers lost one of their backup quarterbacks, Thad Lewis, for the season due to a torn ACL suffered on Sunday against the Texans.
Last week, Kelly was asked if he believes that each quarterback would get equal reps with the first-team throughout preseason. "Yes, no question," Kelly answered. "That's the only way to evaluate them." Earlier this month, Kelly said that preseason would be huge for evaluating both Gabbert and Kaepernick. "To make a fair evaluation, they have to both get reps with the ones," he said.
Colin Kaepernick hasn't thrown a pass since Wednesday, a day before his "scheduled rest day." #49ers
— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) August 16, 2016
Kaepernick started the 2015 season as the 49ers' starting quarterback. He tore a ligament in his throwing hand's thumb during an October 22 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. During his next game, a November 1 matchup against the then-St. Louis Rams, Kaepernick said that he suffered a bone bruise and cracked cartilage. That game would be his last of the season before being benched in favor of Gabbert and eventually being placed on injured reserve.
Gabbert, who was signed by the 49ers prior to the 2014 season, went on to win three of his eight starts as the team finished with a 5-11 record. While Kaepernick recovered from offseason surgeries, Gabbert received the majority of the reps at quarterback during the 49ers' offseason program.
