Colin Kaepernick might not have a rosy relationship with the 49ers front office. But he has plenty on the line this week.

He’s on track toward making his 2016 debut for first-year coach Chip Kelly in Friday’s preseason game against the Packers after not taking a snap in a game since November.

Kaepernick still finds himself behind Blaine Gabbert in the competition to start at quarterback, mostly because he missed the first two exhibition games nursing a sore throwing shoulder after being held out of the majority of the offseason program.

“I’m going to go out and show everything I can these next two games and make sure I put my best foot forward to show this organization, this team, this coaching staff, what I’m capable of,” Kaepernick said Wednesday.

Kaepernick’s proven he’s capable of taking a team deep into the playoffs. During his first year as the starter in 2012, of course, Kaepernick appeared in Super Bowl XLVII, coming within five yards of hoisting the organization’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.

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The next season, Kaepernick helped 12-4 San Francisco get to the NFC Championship Game in Seattle, nearly authoring a last-minute comeback drive on the Seahawks’ vaunted defense. Instead, his throw to Michael Crabtree resulted in a game-sealing interception for nemesis Richard Sherman.

San Francisco’s fans have made it clear they favor Kaepernick over Gabbert, given Kaepernick was leading an NFC juggernaut while Gabbert was toiling in Jacksonville with a 5-22 record as a starter.

But times have changed. Kaepernick is more than two seasons removed from helping the 49ers reach the playoffs. And he’s no longer backed by one of the league’s most talented defenses now that Justin Smith, Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith have moved on.

The 49ers bet on Kaepernick to evolve into the team’s top catalyst, and not a quarterback reliant on an elite defense and running game to maintain productivity. Since signing him to a six-year, $114-million extension prior to 2014, he hasn’t been the player that set the league on fire during his first two seasons.

That could be because Jim Harbaugh is no longer around and the roster eroded – which seems to be the foundation of Kaepernick’s discontent with the front office.

Regardless, Gabbert was better than Kaepernick in 2015, after Kaepernick lost the starting job following the worst eight-game stretch of his career.

2015 Record Comp % Yards TD INT Yards/GM Rating Yards/Att. Colin Kaepernick 2-6 59% 1,615 6 5 179.4 78.5 6.2 Blaine Gabbert 3-5 63.1% 2,031 7 5 253.9 86.2 6.8

To be fair, Kaepernick was playing hurt in four games before his benching. He suffered a left shoulder injury Week 4 against Green Bay, that ultimately required season-ending surgery, two weeks after Gabbert took over.

After the season, Kaepernick had two more procedures on his right thumb and left knee that prevented him from participating in 11-on-11 drills until the start of training camp July 31.

Now that Kaepernick is back healthy, he’ll have two preseason games to prove to Kelly and his staff he’s the same quarterback that came within five yards of winning a Super Bowl, and not the signal caller that’s gone 10-14 over the last two seasons.