After taking the league by storm when he took over for Alex Smith, and nearly led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, Colin Kaepernick’s time in San Fran has been rocky, to say the least.
According to Rand Getlin of NFL Network, Kaepernick seems to have had enough:
Source: Kaepernick's agents have requested permission from the team to seek a trade.
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) February 25, 2016
Kaepernick was benched last season in favor of Blaine Gabbert, but the Niners are under new leadership with head coach Chip Kelly. And while one might expect Kelly’s offense to be a better fit for Kaepernick, it seems Kaepernick is fed up with his situation in the Bay Area.
Rumors have been swirling for months now in regards to Kaepernick and his status with the team. Yet back in December, it appeared that there might be a chance Kaepernick might remain in San Francisco when 49ers CEO Jed York appeared on The Rich Eisen Show.
“I’ve always had a very, very high opinion of Kap. I think Kap’s a great kid, he’s done a lot of great things for us. And again, this is a fresh start for everybody,” York said. But, York did add that it would be up to Chip Kelly, and that Kaepernick needed to be ready to compete.
Just yesterday, as SB Nation reported, 49ers GM Trent Baalke said that he “absolutely” expected Kaepernick to be on the 49ers roster come April 1 when his $11.9 million base salary kicks in. But somewhere between the time that Kaepernick and his representatives met with the team during the NFL Combine and now, things went sour.
Kaepernick took the team to the Super Bowl back in 2012, only to lose to the Baltimore Ravens during Ray Lewis’ farewell season. He was looking like one of the more promising quarterbacks in the league, and even led ESPN’s Ron Jaworski to say he might become the best quarterback of all-time. Kaepernick would follow up his 2012 campaign with over 3,100 yards passing, with 21 tocuhdowns and just eight picks. He also accumulated 524 rush yards, and four scores on the ground.
After an injury-filled 2014, the 49ers went just 8-8, and Jim Harbaugh was forced out by Jed York. This led to the retirement of a handful of players, and contributed to what was a horrible 2015 by Kaepernick.
A change of scenery might be just the thing that Colin Kaepernick needs. He’s shown that he could compete at an extremely high level, but it appears he and his camp are not interesting in giving that a shot in San Francisco. With the NFL Draft just a couple of months away, a move could come sooner rather than later.
