49ers Announce Decision on Colin Kaepernick’s Future
Since being benched by Jim Tomsula in early November, Colin Kaepernick’s future on the San Francisco 49ers has been in question. Since leading his team to back-to-back NFC Championship games and signing a six-year contract extension, worth up to $126 million, Kaepernick is just 10-14 as a starter.
With the arrival of Chip Kelly in the Bay Area, Kaepernick’s future with the team may have been (temporarily) saved.
According to Gregg Rosenthal, team executives expect Kaepernick to remain on their 53-man roster.
Trent Baalke "absolutely" expects Colin Kaepernick to remain on the roster.
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) February 24, 2016
While Kaepernick may remain on the roster, that won’t keep the team from looking for other options. They hold the seventh overall pick in this years draft and hometown kid Jared Goff is one of the top-rated quarterbacks in this years class.
Chip Kelly is also historically a PAC-12 follower since his days at Oregon, so the selection of USC’s Cody Kessler is also not out of the question.
If the comments from Trent Baalke are held true, Kaepernick will earn a guaranteed salary of $11.9 million. Cutting Kaepernick would save the team approximately $9.36 million.
You can review all the details of Kaepernick’s contract here, courtesy of Over The Cap.
The added excitement of Chip Kelly’s arrival be a positive for Colin Kaepernick. Kelly is known for working well with mobile quarterbacks, something he hasn’t had in the NFL since Michael Vick played in Kelly’s first year in Philadelphia. Kelly is also known for liking accurate quarterbacks with excellent decision-making skills. Efficiency is the name of the game for Kelly.
If Kelly and Baalke do hold on to Kaepernick, they have several holes to fill with that seventh overall pick. The team needs help across the depth chart, especially on defense. Adding a linebacker or star defensive back could be the route for San Francisco if Kaepernick is retained for the 2016 season.
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