NFL Notes: 49ers, Cowboys, Saints & Texans

49ers

• 49ers HC Chip Kelly said he remains “real confident” in Blaine Gabbert as the team’s starting quarterback. (Cam Inman)
• Kelly also reiterated that Colin Kaepernick will remain the team’s backup quarterback until he’s back to his 2013 form.
• (Cam Inman)
• Kelly suggested that TE Vance McDonald’s Week 4 status is up in the air but they don’t consider his hip injury to be a long-term issue. (Matt Barrows)

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Jason Garrett told reporters on Wednesday that WR Dez Bryant is “only doing OK” right now after sustained a knee injury last weekend.

“He’s only doing OK,” Garrett said of Bryant, via ESPN.com. “He’s taking it day by day and I think he feels better than he felt after the game, but again, he doesn’t feel good enough to practice today. That’s certainly an indication of where he is.”

Garrett added that they still don’t have the results of Bryant’s MRI yet.

Saints

• Adam Caplan reports that Saints G Senio Kelemete (hamstring) is “iffy” for Week 4, but he is expected to be ready to play after their Week 5 bye.

Texans

Texans HC Bill O’Brien said of the losing DE J.J. Watt for at least an extended period of the season: “You can never replace the best player in the NFL.”

“J.J. did absolutely everything he could do to get back on the field,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “He followed his doctor’s orders… passed every test.”

O’Brien isn’t sure if Watt will have surgery or if he re-injured the same disk he herniated previously.