Chip Kelly is well respected around the league, with other head coaches among the only ones you'll find who think the San Francisco 49ers might amount to something this season. To everyone else, the 49ers seem like a team that, if not in ruin, is very close to it. The quarterback battle between Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert has yet to even start due to Kaepernick's injury, but that all may change on Friday evening when they face the Green Bay Packers.
Packers vs. 49ers 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Colin Kaepernick is hoping to make his 2016 debut on Friday against the Packers.
Kaepernick, who has been rehabbing a shoulder injury sustained prior to getting benched for Gabbert a season ago, has missed the first two preseason games but expects to play on Friday. How much he will play is still up in the air, but it's likely he'll get time with the starters to make this a real quarterback battle. Up until now, it's been Gabbert running unopposed in front of rookie Jeff Driskel and recent free agent pickup Christian Ponder.
The 49ers are going up against a team that has the most stable quarterback situation in the league. Aaron Rodgers doesn't carry the injury-prone label, has a long contract, boasts a Super Bowl ring and notably isn't facing any suspensions for perhaps but possibly not but definitely deflating footballs.
Yet, for a while, Rodgers and Kaepernick looked like they might develop something of a rivalry after the 49ers took down the Packers in two consecutive postseasons. Those games did more for Kaepernick’s claim to being the 49ers’ franchise quarterback than perhaps any other, but he has fallen far since then. Maybe beating the Packers again is what he needs to get back on track.
The Packers, though, are particularly wary of injuries in the preseason after they lost Jordy Nelson to an ACL tear last year in the second preseason game. It's no coincidence that players like Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers have not played yet. But they will play on Friday and will surely miss the fourth preseason game, so this is the first and only chance at seeing the starting units perform before the real season begins.
Nelson, however, is not expected to play. He is not yet cleared to return to action, but the Packers are hoping he’ll be ready for Week 1.
Friday’s game between the Packers and 49ers is the last of the day and is set to get underway at 10 p.m. ET. A live stream will be available via NFL Game Pass, but the game is not being broadcast nationally until the NFL Network joins in progress at 11 p.m.
How to Watch Packers vs. 49ers on Friday
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: Away: WGBA-NBC 26; Home: KPIX-CBS 5 (NFL Network will join in-progress at 11 p.m.)
Announcers: Away: Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon; Home: Ted Robinson, Tim Ryan
Online Streaming: NFL Game Pass
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