Given a second opportunity, new San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly was more vocal about Colin Kaepernick to the media.
But he still didn't say anything.
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Kelly spent an hour with 49ers beat reporters at the NFL Combine, where the subject of Kaepernick came up.
While acknowledging the quarterback's talent, Kelly still didn't reveal anything about Kaepernick's role or how Kelly would work to rejuvenate his career.
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"He wants to be here," Kelly said, according to CSN Bay Area. "He's never expressed to me that he doesn't want to be here. He expressed to me that he was excited about getting healthy and getting going. And we're excited about him getting healthy and getting going."
Shortly after he was introduced as San Francisco's coach in January, Kelly said he couldn't comment on Kaepernick, per NFL rules, according to Pro Football Talk.
"I'm not allowed to comment about [Kaepernick] in terms of how he fits into any system because of the CBA rules of we're not allowed to discuss football, I'm not allowed to say who fits where and how they fit," Kelly said. "So I'm gonna wait until April 4 to discuss Kap and the offense."
That statement was inaccurate, PFT reported.
This time, Kelly at least acknowledged Kaepernick's ability.
"Kap's really good," Kelly told CSN Bay Area. "He had the ball on the 5 yard line, taking the team in to win the Super Bowl. You can just look at the tape and know how talented he is. Our job is acquiring talent, not getting rid of talent."
But once again, the coach stopped short of making any judgments about Kaepernick's struggles before he arrived. It's the same with Blaine Gabbert, who finished last season as San Francisco's starter.
"When I'm watching our film right now, I'm just analyzing skill sets," Kelly said. "Like when I look at Blaine throw a check down, I don't know what he was told to do and I don't know what the play call was, so it's hard for me to say, 'Look at him, he's wrong to make this decision.' "
Considering the 49ers intend to pay Kaepernick his $11.9 million salary for 2016, it's a good bet he starts over Gabbert in 2016.
Sooner or later, Kelly is going to have to talk about Kaepernick in a prominent role.
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