Christian Ponder

Oakland Raiders quarterback Christian Ponder passes the ball in the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in Seattle. The Seahawks beat the Raiders 31-21. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

(Stephen Brashear)

When San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly lost backup quarterback Thad Lewis to a torn ACL this preseason, the team signed Christian Ponder to take his place.

Kelly, the Eagles head coach a year ago, wanted Ponder before he signed Lewis to be the Eagles' backup quarterback.

Asked about Ponder, the one-time first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, and if he tried to sign him in 2015, Kelly was honest in his response.

"We did,'' Kelly said in quotes distributed by the team. "We were trying to bring him in, but he ended up going back to Oakland. (Raiders offensive coordinator) Bill Musgrave, who was the quarterback coach for me in Philadelphia (in 2013), was his offensive coordinator when he was with the Vikings. So, I don't know whether it was staying on the west coach or a familiarity with Bill, but we had talked about bringing him in when I was in Philly last year."

Ponder, 28, was a first-round pick of the Vikings in 2011 out of Florida State. He started 11 games his rookie year and completed 54 percent of his passes for with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

In 2014, Ponder had his best season and guided the Vikings to a 10-6 record. He completed 62 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

The following season he played in just nine games and while his completion percentage rose to 63 percent, he there just seven touchdown passes to go with nine interceptions.

In his final season with the Vikings he played in just two games and threw two interceptions.

Ponder signed with the Raiders to be Derek Carr's backup, but did not see any game action in Oakland.

Mark Eckel may be reached at mjeck04@verizon.net. Follow him on Twitter @MarkEckel08. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.