The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of question marks surrounding the team heading into Week 9. Head coach Jim Tomsula confirmed that Blaine Gabbert would be getting the starting nod against the Atlanta Falcons, but it is still a question mark as to who will be the starting running back. With Pierre Thomas signed, will he see more playing time as Carlos Hyde and Mike Davis heal from injuries?
The 49ers are lacking for healthy running backs in Week 9. Reggie Bush is officially out for the season. Hyde has a foot injury. Mike Davis is dealing with a fractured hand. According to FOX Sports, Hyde will be out for Week 9 as he deals with a stress fracture in his foot. Davis is also expected to be out as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com is reporting he must undergo surgery for a fractured hand. That leaves the newly signed Thomas and Kendall Gaskins who was called up from the practice squad. This is not a good sign for Gabbert.
According to the San Mercury News, the plan is to start Thomas in hopes that he can grasp the offense quickly before Sunday. The running back could be good as he has averaged 4/6 yards per carry in his career. However, the 49ers have a struggling offensive line and Gabbert making his first start. Adding in Thomas who will have been with the team for just a few days does not offer much optimism.
To make matters worse, Gabbert will no longer have the veteran Vernon Davis to rely on bailing him out. The 49ers traded the tight end to the Denver Broncos and must now replace him on the field. Vance McDonald and Garrett Celek will be the top two tight ends that Gabbert has to work with while Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin must play their best to bail out the quarterback.
The starting of Gabbert likely means the beginning of the end for Colin Kaepernick. The quarterback was facing questions of his future before and now this move signifies that San Francisco could move in a different direction come 2016. Tomsula made it clear that the 49ers were simply trying to Kaepernick a mental break and that the change at the starting position was not permanent.
"It was a tough decision," Tomsula said, via ESPN.com. "All those decisions are tough but I felt that was the direction we needed to go. Watching, feeling where I'm at, I just decided now is the time. In no way is 2-6 all on Colin Kaepernick; that's all of us ... this is a guy I care about, a lot. This is a guy that I respect a lot. This is a guy that I think has talent. It's just me, what I'm watching, what I'm feeling and I want him to just step back, keep working, let's do our thing and move forward."
