According to Mike Silver of NFL Media, Blaine Gabbert is the “heavy favorite” to open the season as the 49ers’ starting quarterback over Colin Kaepernick.
“Gabbert is the heavy favorite,” Silver said Tuesday on NFL Total Access. “I’d be shocked if he’s not the starter in the opener.”
Kaepernick has still yet to receive full medical clearance after undergoing offseason surgery. Although, he is expected to participate in individual drills during the team’s minicamp.
Gabbert obviously has a leg up, considering that he’s healthy and taking their first-team reps right now, so the pressure could be on Kaepernick to preform at a high level once he’s ready to go.
Kaepernick’s future with the 49ers remains a huge question mark, especially after the team had discussed a potential trade with the Broncos leading up this year’s draft.
Gabbert, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2010. After three years in Jacksonville, he was traded to the 49ers in return for a sixth-round pick back in March of 2014.
Gabbert is currently in the final year of his two-year, $4 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $1.75 million for the 2016 season.
In 2015, Gabbert appeared in eight games for the 49ers and threw for 282 yards while completing 63.1 percent of his passes to go along with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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