Source: Kelly, Kap meet, prohibited from talking football

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Programming note: Watch Chip Kelly's introductory press conference today at 11am on CSN Bay Area, and streaming live right here.

Chip Kelly and Colin Kaepernick have finally met, but the 49ers' new head coach will have to decide if Kaepernick is the quarterback he wants to run his offense without ever talking about football with him.

Kelly and Kaepernick met briefly Monday at the team facility, a source told CSNBayArea.com. The topic of Monday’s meeting focused only on Kaepernick’s recovery, the source said. Due to restrictions in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, coaches are prohibited from discussing football matters with players until the start of the official offseason program.

Therefore, Kelly is not allowed to talk football with any of his players until April 4, when the NFL's offseason program begins for teams that hired new head coaches.

[MAIOCCO: McCoy: 49ers' offense will put up big numbers under Kelly]

The date is important as Kaepernick’s 2016 base salary of $11.9 million is fully guaranteed for injury or if he remains on the roster on April 1.

Kaepernick is back in Santa Clara to continue rehabilitating from surgeries to his left shoulder, left knee and right thumb after having them treated at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. Kaepernick is expected to make a full recovery from each of the surgeries.

Kelly reportedly inquired last offseason about acquiring Kaepernick when he was in charge of the personnel decisions while head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly was believed to be interested in Kaepernick, in part due to his ability to run the read option. Kelly ended up trading his starting quarterback, Nick Foles, to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford.

[MAIOCCO: Preview of Chip Kelly's first 49ers press conference]

Kaepernick, who is signed through the 2020 season, threw six touchdowns and five interceptions in his eight starts and posted a career-low passer rating of 78.5 last season. Blaine Gabbert replaced Kaepernick midway through the season.

Kelly, who was hired last Thursday, has yet to address the 49ers’ quarterback situation publicly. He is scheduled to hold his introductory press conference on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke are also scheduled to appear, according to the 49ers.

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