Colin Kaepernick Likely To Opt Out After 2016
Under the terms of his restructured contract, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has the option of opting out following the 2016 campaign. And as sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, Kaepernick “fully plans to exercise” that right and hit the free agent market next spring.
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Kaepernick’s new deal wiped out the remaining four years of his contract, and San Francisco is allow barred from using the franchise tag on its quarterback in 2017. The revised contract put to bed any concerns the club may have had about Kaepernick’s injury guarantees kicking in, and perhaps allowed the 49ers to feel comfortable starting Kaepernick over Blaine Gabbert. In today’s loss to the Bills, Kaepernick 13 of 29 passes for 187 yards and one touchdown, and added 66 yards on the ground.
Despite Kaepernick’s struggles, he’d be one of the more attractive free agent options on next year’s market, as the 2017 quarterback class is wholly uninspiring. Aside from Kirk Cousins, other available signal-callers while include Geno Smith, EJ Manuel, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Mike Glennon. Of course, veterans such as Jay Cutler or Tony Romo could also hit the market if released in the coming months.
Kaepernick Could Leave 49ers With Strong 2016 Performance
- The odds are currently against 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick resurrecting his career in 2016, but if he does, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle says he could leave the Niners “in the lurch.” Under his newly-restructured deal, Kaepernick can void the final three years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent after the season if he desires. Given the strained relationship between player and team, Kaepernick could look to cash in elsewhere following a strong performance in 2016.
Colin Kaepernick Restructures Contract
SUNDAY, 9:00am: ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com pass along several more key details of Kaepernick’s restructured deal. Schefter reports that the playing-time incentive of $1MM will be met if Kaepernick plays in 50% of the 49ers’ snaps over the rest of the season, whereas Rapoport indicates that the threshold is set under 50%. Neither scribe explicitly mentions the 34.4% figure that Pelissero reported yesterday.
Rapoport and Schefter do agree that the 49ers purchased an insurance policy in which Kaepernick is the beneficiary, and the policy dictates that if Kaepernick is hurt to the point where he cannot play next season, he would collect $7.5MM tax-free, which is close to what he would have collected in the second year of his original contract (which called for him to make $14.5MM before taxes). As Schefter writes, both sides are now covered in the event Kaepernick suffers an injury that impacts his 2017 availability. He still gets paid, and the 49ers don’t have to count him against their salary cap.
SATURDAY, 3:09pm: Kaepernick’s 2016 cap number vaulted from $15.89MM to $20.23MM, Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. This revised contract also carries a playing-time incentive of $1MM that can be met if the sixth-year quarterback plays in 34.4 percent of the 49ers’ snaps this season, per Pelissero (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 5:30pm: When the 49ers announced earlier today that Colin Kaepernick would be their starting quarterback this week, we knew it’d only be a matter of time before the two sides agreed on a new contract.
Well, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Adam Caplan report that the two sides have agreed to a restructured contract that will wipe out the final four years of Kaepernick’s former deal. The quarterback will now be playing under a one-year contract with a player option for 2017, with the monetary value of the 2016 contract remaining the same. The 28-year-old can opt out of his contract following this season, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. The 49ers will not be allowed to place the franchise tag on the quarterback.
Kaepernick was set to make $14.5MM next season, and the team would have been stuck with a $19.5MM cap hit if they cut the quarterback. Furthering complicating things were the original contract’s injury guarantees, which would have cemented Kaep’s 2017 salary had he still been injured by April of 2017. Those injury guarantees are the same reason why Kaepernick stuck around for this season, and they’re also a big reason why some think Blaine Gabbert was initially named the team’s starting signal-caller. The two sides have been working on a new contract for months, as Schefter notes, and talks picked up over the past month or so.
Kaepernick originally signed his six-year extension prior to the 2014 season, with the deal being worth up to $126MM. After having led his team to a Super Bowl and NFC Championship appearance, the quarterback has struggled mightily since inking that contract. The former second-rounder hit rock bottom in 2015, completing only 59 percent of his passes for 1,615 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions. With Chip Kelly taking over the team this past offseason, some thought that the speedy Kaepernick would be a perfect fit for his new coach’s style of play. Instead, Kelly opted for Gabbert, who has tossed five touchdowns and six interceptions in five games.
Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes that the team fully guaranteed the quarterback’s per-game bonuses ($2MM, or $125K per game) through the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Kaepernick’s potential 2017 salary is still at $14.5MM, but ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets that the there’s no guaranteed money. The new deal will include a revised “injury insurance policy” and playing-time bonuses, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.
Breer On Colin Kaepernick, Trent Baalke
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is set to return to the 49ers’ starting lineup this week, but his NFL future was in doubt as recently as last year. At least two teams that looked into Kaepernick as a potential trade acquisition had questions about whether he wanted to continue playing, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB. Kaepernick ended up staying in San Francisco, of course, and will now take over head coach Chip Kelly‘s offense. If Kaepernick fails under Kelly, the league might not regard the 28-year-old as a viable option anymore, writes Breer, who notes that his career hangs in the balance. “This offense gives him the best chance, no doubt,” one 49ers source said of the mobile Kaepernick, who could become a free agent at season’s end.
- After last season, when it looked as if the 49ers would trade Kaepernick, the relationship between him and general manager Trent Baalke “couldn’t have been worse,” a source told Breer. Kaepernick has never trusted Baalke and views himself as a Jim Harbaugh draft pick, relays Breer. Baalke and Kaepernick went months without speaking to one another amid trade rumors last offseason and then met during the summer to clear the air. It doesn’t seem their meeting was productive, however, as sources close to Kaepernick see his relationship with Baalke as “irreparable,” per Breer.
Colin Kaepernick To Start For 49ers
It’s Colin Kaepernick time. 49ers coach Chip Kelly announced that No. 7 will get the start on Sunday against the Bills. Former starter Blaine Gabbert will now serve as Kaepernick’s primary backup. 
In Week 5, Gabbert had a rough outing against the Cardinals and soon after, Kelly left the door open to a quarterback change. Kaepernick, the one-time face of the Niners, made headlines around the world this year for his protest of national anthem. Now, he has an opportunity to make headlines again for his play on the field and not his actions on the sideline.
Kaepernick signed a six-year extension with the 49ers prior to the 2014 season, a deal that had the potential to be worth $126MM. The dual threat QB led the Niners to the NFC title game in the previous season, but he has yet replicate the level of play that earned him a long-term deal. Injuries to his left knee, left shoulder, and right thumb held him back this offseason, but he has apparently healed up in recent weeks.
The 49ers and Kaepernick have been working on a restructuring of his contract and today’s news likely means that it’s a done deal. The amended contract will reportedly alleviate concerns regarding the quarterback’s injury guarantees. For what it’s worth, Kelly told reporters that he’s unsure about Kaepernick’s contract situation.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick
The 49ers’ offer of a contract restructure to quarterback Colin Kaepernick is “awaiting his signature,” reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). Kaepernick, like all other San Francisco players, has been out of town since the club’s Thursday night game, and won’t return until tomorrow. It’s unclear if Kaepernick is planning to sign off on the new deal at the time.
[RELATED: Poll — Which 49ers QB Should Start Week 6?]
The new deal should alleviate concerns regarding the quarterback’s injury guarantees. Meanwhile, it will also give Kaepernick an opportunity to void his deal after this season should he outperform his contract. The deal effectively does away with No. 7’s guarantees in 2017 and could cut off the final three years of the pact. It will also allow the 49ers to receive a compensatory pick if Kaepernick voids the contract and signs elsewhere during the offseason.
One new detail of the proposed restructuring is that the 49ers would guarantee Kaepernick’s remaining weekly gameday active bonuses, which would total $1.375MM, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The new contract could signal that San Francisco is willing to bench Blaine Gabbert and start Kaepernick in Week 6. Head coach Chip Kelly left that possibility open, but the club hasn’t made an official decision.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
49ers Sign CB JaCorey Shepherd
The 49ers announced that they have signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd. Shepherd will take the place of cornerback Chris Davis, who was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. 
The signing reunites Shepherd, a 2015 draft pick of the Eagles, with coach Chip Kelly. In college, Shepherd started out as a wide receiver but didn’t find his footing until he was turned into a defensive back as a sophomore. As a junior, Shepherd had 45 total tackles, including two tackles for a loss, and ten pass deflections, putting him on the map nationally. His stats dropped a bit as a senior, but he still showed enough to become a late draft pick.
Davis, a cornerback/kick returner, was forced out of Thursday night’s game against the Cardinals. He was initially listed as questionable for this Sunday against the Bills, but he is now likely done for the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Maiocco: Trent Baalke On The Hot Seat
- Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com believes that 49ers GM Trent Baalke is on the hot seat, largely as a result of his repeated failure to address the team’s weaknesses at impact positions. The problem is that there is nothing Baalke can do to strengthen the team for the final 11 games, so if San Francisco does not improve on its own, Baalke’s tenure with the club could be over.
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49ers Mulling QB Change
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com chimes in on the Colin Kaepernick situation, reporting that the 49ers are indeed mulling a move to pull starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert in favor of Kaepernick. Although head coach Chip Kelly has not yet had conversations with his full staff regarding his quarterback conundrum, he has had informal, exploratory discussions about making a move. There are, of course, several factors that could influence Kelly’s decision, including Kaepernick’s contract situation–a restructured deal would make San Francisco more willing to put No. 7 on the field–and his health. Although Kaepernick is not yet back to his normal playing weight, his arm at least is back to full strength, and he appears more at ease with his teammates then he has in years past. He does not consistently outperform Gabbert in practice, but at this point, a change probably makes sense and could happen soon.
49ers Restructure Colin Kaepernick’s Deal?
SATURDAY, 9:30am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter) has some details on Kaepernick’s new contract.
$2MM in future potential bonuses will now be guaranteed, which is a significant payday for the quarterback. Furthermore, the new contract now features several incentives that are connected to playing time.
FRIDAY, 5:50pm: This is “far from a done deal,” tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Maiocco notes that it could still happen, however.
3:05pm: The 49ers and Colin Kaepernick have reached agreement on a restructuring of his contract, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter links).
The new deal should alleviate concerns regarding the quarterback’s injury guarantees. Meanwhile, it will also give Kaepernick an opportunity to void his deal after this season should he outperform his contract. The deal effectively does away with No. 7’s guarantees in 2017 and could cut off the final three years of the pact. It will also allow the 49ers to receive a compensatory pick if Kaepernick voids the contract and signs elsewhere during the offseason, per CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
The reworked deal could signal that the team is benching Blaine Gabbert and installing Kaepernick as the new starter. However, there is no official word on that front.
Gabbert is coming off of a disappointing game against the Cardinals and coach Chip Kelly has left the door open to a quarterback change. Kaepernick, the one-time starter in SF, has been a lightning rod for controversy this year. Now, he has an opportunity to make headlines again for his play on the field and not his actions on the sideline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.