Extra Points: Kaepernick, 49ers, Bears

After talking with general managers at the league meetings, Tom Pelissero of USA Today doesn’t sense that free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s political beliefs have stopped him from landing a contract. The problem isn’t Kaepernick’s asking price, either; rather, it’s that he needs a specific type of offense to fit his style as a mobile signal-caller who has issues with accuracy and struggles when he has to stay in the pocket. Notably, the 49ers’ new head coach, Kyle Shanahan, indicated to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle that they’re not bringing Kaepernick back because he’s not right for their scheme. “I think Colin has a certain skill set that you can put a specific offense to it that he can be very successful in,” said Shanahan. “When we first looked at it … that wasn’t necessarily the direction I wanted to go.”

More from around the NFL:

  • The Bears swung and missed in attempts to reel in high-profile free agents earlier this month, but chairman George McCaskey is hardly holding that against general manager Ryan Pace. “I’ve been very impressed with [Pace] as a leader, as an evaluator of talent,” McCaskey told John Mullin of CSN Chicago. “And one of the things I’ve been most impressed by with him is the discipline he’s shown just as recently as this free agency period. He didn’t want to overpay guys. Too often, I think, you overpay guys who don’t come through for you and then you have a big hole in your salary cap and you’re behind the 8-ball. So I like the discipline he has shown, the restraint he has shown in free agency.”
  • North Carolina State safety Josh Jones visited the Ravens on Thursday, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Jones ranks 48th on the board of Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, so he could be a candidate for Baltimore’s second-round pick (No. 47).
  • “Most signs point to” the Redskins retaining safety DeAngelo Hall on a reworked contract, writes JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The 33-year-old is slated to take up over $5MM in cap space next season, though the Redskins would save most of that ($4.25MM) by releasing him. Hall hasn’t stayed healthy in recent years, having missed 31 of 48 regular-season games since 2014, so he wouldn’t have much leverage if the Redskins were to insist on a pay cut.
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