49ers Training Camp position-by-position breakdown

Quarterback Breakdown

The starting quarterback position for the San Francisco 49ers is, for now, one of the most guaranteed spots. Colin Kaepernick will clearly and obviously be the starter week 1 — and, barring injury or something drastic happening to his performance, even as bad as it was last year, Kap will finish the season behind center as well.

Part of this is the fact that there is really no one else behind Kaepernick at quarterback who can compete with him. Blaine Gabbert is still trying to resurrect his bust of a career — and, despite signing a 2 year $2 million contract in March, will almost certainly never be able to do that.

Behind Gabbert are Dylan Thompson and Kory Faulkner. Thompson, a South Carolina graduate, may be able to crack the final roster, but this is highly doubtful. New tight end Blake Bell being a former quarterback does not help his case as an emergency QB either. More likely than not, Thompson and Faulkner are in a battle over who will make the practice squad. The early edge has to go to Thompson, who played at a bigger college program (Faulkner played at Southern Illinois), especially since Faulkner’s place on the 49ers roster seemed to be most appreciated by former OC Greg Roman. With Roman out of the picture, it appears unlikely that Faulkner will be able to make the team or practice squad without an impressive showing.

As for Gabbert, he will be doing his best to pretend he is starting again by using virtual reality (no joke) in what may be an ingenious way to help backups improve. He will get a better workout doing that than holding a clipboard.

Next: Running Back Breakdown