Colin Kaepernick Benched for Blaine Gabbert After Ugly Performance in Chicago

Colin Kaepernick was benched in the fourth quarter in Chicago today in favor of Blaine Gabbert. Through three quarters, Kaepernick completed one of his five passes, for a total of four yards. He was sacked five times for a total loss of 25 yards.

This was a major regression for Kaepernick, who had been sneakily pretty good over the past four weeks. While the 49ers lost all of those games, Kaepernick had thrown eight TDs and two INTs in them.

Before you excuse away Kaepernick’s performance by blaming the elements at Soldier Field, Matt Barkley, who is the Bears’ fourth quarterback this season, has completed 11 of 18 passes for 192 yards. Since the first quarter, the Bears have been crisply moving the ball.

Last week, Barkley also looked pretty good for the Bears, but he was not helped by Bears receivers, who dropped an astonishing 10 balls. It is very soon to say this, but he might be playing himself into the team’s future plans with Jay Cutler’s up in the air.

As for Kaepernick, the next few weeks may or may not determine whether any professional teams are interested in bringing him in to compete for a starting job next season, if San Francisco decides they’ve had enough.