San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins met with the media Tuesday morning, and naturally he got questions about the quarterback position. He was asked if he had a starter for this Sunday against the Texans, and he said that has not been determined yet. Someone else followed up asking whether or not the team would give one QB a start this week and the other a start next week. He said they were still deciding all that while they finish up this initial installation process.

Chip Kelly will meet with the media Friday, marking the last media availability before Sunday’s game. I would hope for an answer then as to who is starting at quarterback, but the team might just wait until game day to make it official.

Earlier on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was on Mike & Mike, and provided an update on what he is hearing about the 49ers quarterback situation. You can listen here, at the 15:42 mark. Here is transcription of his comments:

Well, I think Gabbert went into camp with an advantage, and I think Kaepernick is starting to make up some ground. Look, the fact of the matter is, that battle is going to be won on the football field this summer. You speak to people in the 49ers organization, they say that we’ve got quarterback 1a and 1b, that’s how closely they say they view it at this time. And so, if it is that close, then clearly it’s decided on the field. Someone is going to step up and play well in the preseason under Chip Kelly’s system, and somebody’s not. Somebody’s going to play better than the other quarterback, and whoever does that there wins that job. I think they’re completely open to either quarterback starting right now, with Colin Kaepernick closing some of the ground that Blaine Gabbert had had when he took all of the reps with the first team offense during the OTAs.

It is not entirely shocking to learn the competition could be close right now. Based on practice reports, neither quarterback has stood out in a big way for a consistent period. There have been solid days for each, but nobody seems to really be pulling away. Chip Kelly said this will be decided in the preseason games, which is echoed in Schefter’s report. So, for now we wait until Sunday to see who potentially takes a significant step forward.