Grant Cohn: After final cuts, what we know about the 49ers

Here's what you have to know about the 49ers after they've made their final cuts.

1. Blaine Gabbert is the starting quarterback…for now.

On a conference call Saturday afternoon, head coach Chip Kelly made the big announcement … sort of.

'Right now,' Kelly said, 'Blaine (Gabbert) is No. 1 and he'll start versus the Rams. Kap (Colin Kaepernick) is No. 2.'

What gave Gabbert the advantage, Chip?

'I think the whole body of work from April until today,' Kelly said. 'I think his grasp and command of what we're doing. I think he's a good fit for what we want to get accomplished, and have a lot of confidence in what he can do with us offensively.

'I think Kap is still coming off of getting himself healthy and 100 percent go. He has been cleared to play, but he still knows he's got some work to do. He's not up to his playing weight that he was when he was successful here and he'll continue to work on that. He missed a couple weeks there with the arm and that set him back a little bit in terms of his ability to compete for it. But the timetable was the timetable, and right now we feel like Blaine is the starter.'

Kelly did not say whether Gabbert will start the rest of the season.

Here's how I interpret that:

Kelly doesn't know if Gabbert will start the rest of the season because the quarterback competition may not be over. Gabbert certainly is in the lead today, and that's why he'll start next Monday — somebody has to start. But he might play terribly in that game. He'll face a terrific defense.

Maybe Kelly isn't totally sold on Gabbert yet. Are you? Maybe Kelly wants to give Kaepernick a few more weeks to prove himself just in case Gabbert fails quickly.

2. The 49ers keep not two but three quarterbacks … for now.

In addition to Gabbert and Kaepernick, the Niners kept quarterback Christian Ponder.

Here's how I interpret that:

Management may have wanted to cut Kaepernick. One can imagine Kelly fought to keep him. Kelly wants the best possible quarterbacks — he doesn't care how much they might cost the team in the future. That's management's problem.

Management clearly decided to give Kelly the quarterback he wants. But management also kept a third quarterback — Ponder. And that makes Kaepernick's future unclear.

You can imagine Kelly bought Kaepernick a few more weeks on the team. If he can't win the starting job by, say, Week 5, the Niners might cut Kaepernick and make Ponder the backup quarterback.

Keeping Kaepernick on the active roster will cost management $125,000 per week. Hard to imagine Jed York paying that money to a backup 17 times this season.

3. The 49ers improve their receiving corps.

General manager Trent Baalke traded an undisclosed draft pick to the Chiefs for former Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater, who instantly becomes one of the best receivers on the Niners.

Streater made 39 catches as an undrafted rookie in 2012, then made 60 catches in 2013. But he played just three games in 2014 before breaking his foot, then played just one game last season.

He most likely will start the season as the backup to the Niners' No. 2 receiver, Quinton Patton, who has made just 36 catches in three NFL seasons. Not a proven player.

Don't be surprised if Streater takes Patton's job by midseason.

4. The 49ers weaken their running backs.

The Niners were shaky at this position to begin with. Starter Carlos Hyde suffered a concussion Week 3 of the preseason, and backup Shaun Draughn injured his rib Week 1. Most of us probably assumed the Niners would keep a couple of extra running backs just in case the top two guys can't stay healthy.

Wrong. The Niners kept only one extra running back, Mike Davis. Strange. You would expect a run-first offense to keep more than three running backs, especially if the top two are injury-prone.

Perhaps Baalke will sign a running back another team releases a few weeks from now.

5. Baalke's resume takes a hit.

Baalke won the NFL Executive of the Year award in 2011. Since then, he has drafted 51 players and 25 are no longer on roster, including four Baalke picked this year.

Saturday, he cut fifth-round pick Fahn Cooper, sixth-round picks Jeff Driskel and Kelvin Taylor and seventh-round pick Prince Charles Iworah, all four of whom may end up on the practice squad but will be of no help this season. Baalke also cut former third-round pick Corey Lemonier and former fourth-round pick DeAndre Smelter, who had a torn ACL when Baalke drafted him just last year. The Niners gave up on him already. What an awful pick.

If the 49ers fire Baalke at the end of this season — and they may — they probably will fire him for whiffing on almost half his picks the past five drafts.

Grant Cohn writes sports columns and the 'Inside the 49ers' blog for The Press Democrat's website. You can reach him at grantcohn@gmail.com.