Kelly: Kap limited to No. 2 role

Quarterback not healthy enough to start, but could spell Gabbert, coach says

SANTA CLARA — As the pressure mounts on 49ers coach Chip Kelly to play Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, his explanations as to why he hasn’t played him keep getting harder to decipher.

After repeating once again that Kaepernick is not physically ready to play, Kelly was asked Monday why Kaepernick has been active for all three games so far if he’s not physically ready.

“Because he’s capable to be the backup,” Kelly said. “But I don’t think he’s ready to go fulltime.”

Kelly said if current starter Blaine Gabbert were unable to play, Kaepernick would definitely be the choice, not No. 3 man Christian Ponder. But the coach is not prepared to go there yet as long as Gabbert is

healthy, despite his deficiencies and those of the 49ers’ offense so far.

Through three games, Gabbert is 31st in the NFL in completion percentage (55.2), 30th in quarterback rating (68.2) and 32nd in yards per attempt (5.5). Under Gabbert, the 49ers failed to convert any of their first 10 third-down situations.

It still wasn’t enough for Kelly to go to Kaepernick.

“To get the full Kap for what you need and the potential that he has, he has to continue working on the physical aspect thing,” Kelly said. “Kap’s definitely our No. 2 right now. Everybody wants to know why Kap isn’t our No. 1, but I don’t think Kap’s 100 percent right now. That’s what I’m saying.”

When pressed on how close Kaepernick is to being 100 percent, Kelly said, “I don’t know, that’s a question for him. He’ll be able to tell you exactly where he is.”

Asked by Bay Area News Group columnist Tim Kawakami following Sunday’s 37-18 loss in Seattle if he is physically and mentally ready to play, Kaepernick said he’s just waiting to get the call.

“I think I showed that in the last preseason game. I’m out at practice every day, working, making sure that I’m ready for when that time does come.”

Kelly assessed Gabbert’s performance in Seattle as “OK,” saying that criticisms of his play haven’t necessarily been fair in the context of the entire offense.

“Everybody keeps pointing to the quarterback, but it’s not like the offensive line is playing tremendous, the running backs are doing everything and the wide receivers are doing everything and we’re just not getting good quarterback play,” he said. “I think it’s the entire group offensively.”

Kelly was asked if he sees getting Kaepernick getting an opportunity to start soon.

“We’ll just see how we go offensively,” he said. “If we score 65 touchdowns next week, I don’t see him getting a shot.”

Kelly offered no updates n on injuries, the most serious of which to be to tight end Vance McDonald (hip) and cornerback Jimmie Ward (quad). The 49ers are carrying just three tight ends on their roster, so if McDonald isn’t available next weekend against Dallas, it could force a roster move.

“I don’t know if it’s a long-term thing or a shortterm thing (with McDonald),” Kelly said. “So, we’ll see as we go from there. If Ward can’t go, he’ll likely be replaced by Keith Reaser, who finished the game in Ward’s spot, or Rashard Robinson. Kelly said that decision would depend on matchups.

Kelly wouldn’t be n drawn into an opinion on the controversial thirdquarter penalty against linebacker Eli Harold, who was called for a horse-collar tackle infraction while bringing down Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was knocked out of the game on the play with a sprained left knee.

Since Wilson was scrambling, and Harold didn’t actually grab Wilson by the shoulder pads, the flag drew some consternation, including from 49ers radio analyst Tim Ryan, who called the penalty “garbage.” Kelly, however, was noncommittal when asked about it.

“I saw that they threw a flag and called it a horsecollar tackle. So, I’m not allowed to comment.”