DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Colin Kaepernick available in trade

GM Trent Baalke strongly denies the 49ers are shopping Colin Kaepernick.

If the 49ers released Colin Kaepernick today, they wouldn’t owe him another dollar, dime or penny.

Yes, that’s a deal supposedly signed through 2020 but actually guaranteeing the 49ers quarterback zippo from here on out.

Of course, the 49ers aren’t going to hit the Franchise QB Eject Button quite yet. I’m not in any way suggesting that they will.

Not yet.

Kaepernick remains the 49ers’ singular offensive focus for the 2015 season even after all the recent coaching tumult and perhaps as a result of it, too.


But the big-picture QB reality has three parts:

* Kaepernick was Jim Harbaugh’s personally selected and groomed QB and Harbaugh isn’t the 49ers’ coach any more.

New coach Jim Tomsula has seen Kaepernick play spectacularly and play poorly, but all that was when Tomsula was the 49ers’ defensive line coach.

Tomsula’s connection with and level of commitment to Kaepernick is unknown and general manager Trent Baalke and owner Jed York are making this call, anyway.

* Kaepernick’s performance level slipped last season and now he’ll be dealing with the first coaching change and possibly the first full schematic changes of his NFL career (depending on what Chryst does with the playbook).

* The 49ers signed Kaepernick to a deal last summer that gave them the right to cut Kaepernick now… or next spring… or the next spring after that (as long as it’s before April 1 each year)… without a blink.

Add that all up and that sets up 2015 as a virtual lame-duck QB season.

Which is sort of a franchise specialty these days–management and Harbaugh went through an accelerated lame-duck coaching crisis in 2014 due to Harbaugh’s contract status and now Kaepernick’s non-guaranteed contract is the 49ers’ next ticking time bomb.

Can’t you see it coming?

If Kaepernick and Tomsula don’t quite seem in sync in the first few weeks of training camp…
Or if new offensive coordinator Geep Chryst—Kaepernick’s former position coach—can’t immediately lift Kaepernick’s production after the dip in 2014…

Or if new quarterbacks coach Steve Logan doesn’t quite bond with Kaepernick…

Or if Baalke lets Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore go in free agency this spring and the 49ers’ offensive personnel takes a downslide…

Or if York’s proclaimed desire to see Kaepernick run the ball dynamically is either stuffed by NFL defenses or gets Kaepernick bruised up and off-kilter…

Or if the 49ers just aren’t very good in 2015, period.

If any or all of that happens, everybody had better be prepared for constant scrutiny and pointed discussions about Kaepernick’s future with the 49ers after 2015, because that’s exactly how the 49ers designed this contract.

York’s comments seem to point to the conclusion that Kaepernick is at his best when he’s running the ball, which certainly could be true.

But if the 49ers think he’s better as a runner than as a passer, and if most run-first QBs have shorter shelf-lives, is Kaepernick really worth all those back-loaded salaries?

In truth, the “seven-year, $126-million deal” Kaepernick signed last summer actually amounted to a $13-million signing bonus and then seven separate one-year contracts.

By the way, his 2015 salary has already “de-escalated” by $2 million—down to $10.4 million—because he didn’t make the All-Pro team or lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

It was a bad deal for Kaepernick and it wasn’t the most cap-friendly situation for the 49ers, who still must account for Kaepernick’s future salaries in cap projections.

According to the excellent overthecap.com website, Kaepernick’s cap number for 2015 now is $15.3 million (adding in the pro-rated bonus amount).

For 2016, it’s $16.8 million.

For 2017, it’s $19.7 million.

You see where this is headed.

We can expect that the 49ers will draft a QB probably by the fourth round or so this year, which I heard they were planning to do last season but changed their minds.

In 2014, all they had behind Kaepernick was Blaine Gabbert and Josh Johnson and neither could be offered up even as a pretend challenger for the starting job.

This spring, the 49ers almost certainly will let Gabbert go and they’ll hope to land a veteran with a more realistic chance to compete with Kaepernick in 2015.

But Kaepernick is going to be the starting quarterback and it will be up to Tomsula, Chryst and, of course, Kaepernick himself to see if he can turn this around.

If there’s no turn around, the 49ers will face a decision next spring. They’ll be thinking about it all year, every day, and Kaepernick should be thinking about it, too.

And maybe by the end of it, Kaepernick will be just as content if the 49ers let him go to find somebody who might guarantee him slightly more than the minimum amount required.

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Mother of God.



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I find the 49ers situation fascinating and heartbreaking all at the same time. I put myself in the shoes of 49er fans, and I almost want to cry. I imagine something like this happening to the Browns. I mean this type of stuff would be the type of thing that typically only happens to the Browns. Let's take a look at the chronology.

1. Nearly Browns level sucking for almost a decade.
2. Finally hire a great coach. Takes them to NFC Championship first season.
3. Also coaches up former first round pick and has him playing well.
4. Grooms QB draft choice who steps in for injured first round QB and doesn't skip a beat. Actually takes them to Super Bowl. Nearly wins.
5. Then takes them to another conference championship. Three in a row for Harbaugh. Two in a row for Kaep.
6. Then have a down season at 8-8.
7. Fire one of the 5 best coaches in the NFL over a personality clash and 1 8-8 season after three straight conference championships and one Super Bowl appearance.
8. Hire a coach that everyone is making fun of them for.
9. Put Kaep on trading block.

If the Browns ever hit on a coach and QB at the same time, this script is so fitting for them. The Browns would undoubtedly find a way to screw it up. I mean the 9ers were looking like they were on the verge of a dynasty, and now they look like they are heading for a double digit loss season. Just bizarre.

Kaep can't read defenses after the snap. Someone in the NFL figured this out and the book is now out on him. I don't think he's very good at all so this isn't to defend him at all. This post is simply to marvel at a situation that seemed so promising once and just came crashing down in an epic thump.

I find it bizarre and fascinating.

No way would I trade for Kaepernick ... JMHO

and a 2nd year QB with 3 starts.

Dream on.

There is no way Kaepernick is going anywhere.

SF was a playoff team because of their D and their run game not because of what their QB did or did not do ... I think I would rather give Johnny his shot than giving picks to the Niner's for Kaepernick ... JMHO

None of this is true and/or makes sense.

I guess you didn't watch many Niners games ...

Which leads me to a question for Vers ... why do you say that people can't learn to read defenses post snap? Why can't that be a learned skill?

The report has been disputed by the 49ers GM, but why would anyone be against trading for Kaepernick?

We have to spend 70 Mil in the next two years..

I assume some people will be getting locked up in the next few years, but eventually we're ganna have to spend some money..

Kaepernick was not a huge part of the run game?

SF was a playoff team because of their D and their run game not because of what their QB did or did not do ... I think I would rather give Johnny his shot than giving picks to the Niner's for Kaepernick ... JMHO