There is a huge controversy swirling around Colin Kaepernick, and on Tuesday he confirmed it: he has been on a vegan diet the last nine months. As a meat eater myself, I just don’t know that I can support this (/sarcasm).

There had been some rumors floating around that he had switched over, and his girlfriend mentioned it on her Facebook page back (pointed out by Matt Maiocco). So, this is not breaking news, so much as confirmation of the news.

Where this gets interesting is in his attempts to return from shoulder surgery. Kaepernick lost a lot of muscle mass following the surgery because he could not do his normal upper-body workouts. He has looked a bit bigger since, but it has taken time to get back to his previous condition.

Chip Kelly was asked about Kaepernick’s condition on Tuesday. He was specifically asked if he was back to the same weight he was before surgery:

“No, he’s not and obviously you understand that because he did have three surgeries, so he’s limited in the type of lifting he does. So, he’s not the same size he was when he played. I don’t know the exact playing weight he was at, because I wasn’t here before. But, he’ll be the first to tell you that, that’s he’s not where he was before.”

Kaepernick has had a lot of physical things to deal with in his return from surgery. A lack of reps, weight and muscle mass, the list goes on. He is set to likely start on Thursday against the San Diego Chargers, and even if he does not “start” the game, he’ll get a sizable amount of work. Kelly would not commit to a specific number of snaps since you might get extensive work on two series, or you might only get a limited amount. They’re going to play it by ear, but look for Kaepernick to get a lot of work.