The 2016 NFL season is slowly creeping in but the San Francisco 49ers have not yet decided who will be its starting quarterback. Currently, the team is still setting up a competition between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert.
However, this may not turn out as easy as it should be due to Kaepernick's current medical condition. According to The Blow, the quarterback has not yet been given the medical clearance to participate in football activities. As noted by the site, he is still recovering from a torn labrum in his shoulder and also recently underwent surgery for the torn ligament in his right thumb.
But, despite these, Kaepernick was present at the 49ers' offseason team activities. However, it is not yet cleared if he will be allowed to participate in the team's minicamp.
In the meantime, San Francisco is training with Gabbert, who served as the 49ers' starter last season after Kaepernick was benched. Of course, this gives Gabbert the chance to impress San Francisco officials but this doesn't mean that he'll be the team's starter once the 2016 season kicks in.
As expected, he and Kaepernick will still have to compete for the prized spot once the latter has fully recovered.
Even with Kaepernick's current condition, it seems things for the 49ers are starting to look good this offseason. For one, the issue between the quarterback and the team has ended after a potential trade for the player with the Denver Broncos failed to materialize.
And, according to ESPN, Kaepernick said he's really happy that he's with San Francisco.
"I was happy to get back on the field this week," he said. "Everything's coming along and progressing as planned. At this point I can really start to get rolling. I'm excited to get back on the field, get healthy and be ready for this training camp."
"I really don't want to get into specifics of what happened, why things happened," he said about the previous issue between him and the team. "At this point everything is football, I'm a 49er and excited to work with [head coach] Chip [Kelly] and his coaching staff. I'm excited about what's to come."
