The 49ers have finally made a move we’ve been calling for the last month.
Christian Ponder is active and will backup Colin Kaepernick in a few hours against the Atlanta Falcons. Blaine Gabbert, who started the season 0-5 as the starter, is inactive.
Ponder was signed in August off the streets and had a strong preseason — against third-stringers. But he has the mobile skill set and a touch passing game that could prove to suit Chip Kelly’s offense well as a backup in 2017 — should Kelly stay. The former first round pick had one season of success in Minnesota, but was mostly up and down for the Vikings.
If Kaepernick does struggle or this game is a blowout, I’d expect to see Ponder play. Here’s a full article on why it makes sense to play Ponder over Kaepernick to close the season. Kelly also told former Browns CEO Joe Banner — in a job interview — that Ponder was the ideal type of quarterback he was looking for in his NFL system.
Here are the rest of the inactive which include left tackle Joe Staley and wide receiver Torrey Smith.
Kickoff 1:05pm PT on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/pU4hLftKm4
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 18, 2016