49ers' York talks Kap: ‘This is a fresh start for everybody'

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The 49ers have hired their head coach and assembled their next staff. But the most intriguing question remains: Who will start under center in the Chip Kelly era?

Kelly, general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York have mostly remained hush on the matter, but they've contributed tidbits here and there to the conversation.

Leading up to Super Bowl week, the latest came from York, who spoke with NFL Network's Rich Eisen on the 'Rich Esen Show'.

Eisen raised the idea of how good, in theory, quarterback Colin Kaepernick fits with Kelly and the system he runs.

York was then asked who he sees starting for the 49ers in 2016.

"I'm not going to decide who the starting quarterback is. That's our coach, and then the staff," York told Eisen on Thursday. "But I think the nice thing is we have the third-most salary cap room in the league, and everybody wants to make a big issue of, 'Well, you need to make a decision on Colin.' Etcetera, etcetera. We want Colin to get back healthy as soon as possible. We want to make sure that he's able to take the field whenever he's available.

[RELATED: Rival DC: Kap 'Freddy Krueger' scary in Kelly's offense]

"And we've all seen what Colin can do," the 49ers CEO added. "Taking us to a Super Bowl, an NFC Championship game the year after. He's had a great career here. Obviously last year wasn't a great year for any of us in red and gold.

"And I think Chip is going to be a great addition, not just for Kap, but for the rest of the team. I'm excited to see where it goes."

But the fact remains, after a 2-6 record to start the year, Kaepernick was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert.

Once healthy, could Kaepernick earn back his starting job?

"There's no question in my mind," York replied. "I've always had a very, very high opinion of Kap. Kap's a great kid, he's done a lot of great things for us. And again, this is a fresh start for everybody."

Baalke, the team's GM, addressed the quarterback situation earlier in the offseason, telling 95.7 The Game: "Well the future's bright (for Kaepernick). ...But we've got two guys. Blaine (Gabbert) stepped in and did some awfully good things. Obviously Colin has done a lot of good things through his career here. And Chip's looking forward to getting together with both of them, and getting them on the field, and putting them into his system, and going to work."

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