Colin Kaepernick has hit rock bottom. After an abysmal start to the season, he has been benched (mercifully, some might say) for Blaine Gabbert. Yes, the very same Blaine Gabbert who was drafted 10th overall by the Jaguars and made 27 mostly forgettable starts before he was traded to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick in March 2014.

Even more sobering:

But Kaepernick had been that bad. Through two months, he ranked 32nd among all starting quarterbacks, according to Football Outsiders (that's a list that includes out-of-work Ryan Mallet), and as recently as last week former 49ers great Jerry Rice called for Kaepernick to grab some pine, at least for a while, "to energize the team."

On Wednesday, coach Jim Tomsula offered a similar explanation, calling the benching "a tough decision but I feel it's the direction we need to go." And adding that the move will hopefully benefit Kaepernick in the long run because it will allow him to "step back and breathe and look at things through a different lens."

"I felt like this was the direction we needed to go," Tomsula continued, via NFL.com. "In no way is 2-6 all on Colin Kaepernick. That's on all of us. This is a guy I think has talent ... I just want him to step back, keep working."

Back in Week 4, after Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger had suffered injuries that forced them to the sidelines, we ranked all 32 backup quarterbacks. The 49ers fell under the heading, "So, let's talk about the 2016 NFL Draft" and ranked 27th. Here's what we wrote at the time: "Two words: Blaine Gabbert. Two more words: Colin Kaepernick. Three more words: It doesn't matter."

Those sentiments still hold. The only real questions that remain: How will Kaepernick perform when he gets another chance this season (because he will -- we're talking about Gabbert here), and who will be the 49ers' coach next season?

Commence with the Blaine Gabbert era in San Francisco. (USATSI)
Commence with the Blaine Gabbert era in San Francisco. (USATSI)