Donte Whitner has said that Colin Kaepernick has proved that he deserves to be the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback.
The 25-year-old, who replaced Alex Smith in the starting lineup midseason, led the 49ers to a 45-31 win over the Green Bay Packers in his first start in a playoff game on Saturday.
The safety told the 49ers' website: "Everybody that was second guessing the decision to move from Alex to him, I don't think they'll be questioning it any more.
"He's that new-style quarterback in the National Football League that can run the read option, that can pull the ball down, run it and take it the distance from anywhere on the football field, extremely strong-armed, accurate.
"He's our quarterback, he's our leader and he did a great job out there [on Saturday]."
The 49ers will face the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
