49ers Promote DuJuan Harris -- Again
- The 49ers performed some more DuJuan Harris-related paperwork by again adding the running back to their active roster from their practice squad, Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News reports. San Francisco cut defensive tackle Taylor Hart, whom the team claimed from the Eagles off waivers earlier this season, to make room. This marks Harris’ third promotion to the 53-man unit after being called up in September twice and subsequently waived soon after. The 49ers are going to be without Carlos Hyde in Week 7 and are in need of a third running back behind Mike Davis and Shaun Draughn. Harris hasn’t played in a game yet this season.
Chip Kelly Denies Interest In NCAA Jobs
49ers head coach Chip Kelly denied that he would entertain any notion of returning to the collegiate ranks after a report earlier this week indicated that Kelly might be interested in returning to the NCAA, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle details. “I’m not going anywhere,” said Kelly in response to the report.
[RELATED: 49ers Won’t Fire GM Trent Baalke]
On Wednesday, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that several college head coaches believed that Kelly would leave the Bay Area after a single season in order to jump back to the NCAA. LSU, Penn State, Texas, and Oregon — where Kelly was previously the head coach — could all be looking for new coaches in the coming months.
In four seasons with the Ducks, Kelly posted a 46-7 record and appeared in a one National Championship game, a loss to Auburn. Since joining the NFL as the Eagles’ coach in 2013, Kelly has registered a 27-26 overall record, earning one playoff appearance during that stretch.
49ers Won’t Fire GM Trent Baalke?
The 49ers are 1-5 and it doesn’t sound like Chip Kelly‘s first season in SF will result in a playoff berth. Still, GM Trent Baalke‘s job is not in jeopardy at this time, according to a source who spoke with Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). 
[RELATED: 49ers Bring CB Will Redmond Back From IR]
The Niners have struggled on both sides of the ball so far this season. After getting off to a rough start with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, the team decided to give the starting job back to Colin Kaepernick. In his debut last weekend, No. 7 completed just 13 of his 29 passing attempts as San Francisco got blown out at Buffalo. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ defense has allowed more than 30 points in four of its past five games.
Despite the team’s problems, the 49ers still believe that Baalke is the right guy to select the right players for Kelly, according to Cole’s source. Personally, I’m still skeptical as to whether Baalke will be retained for a seventh season in San Francisco if things do not improve.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/16
Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB/KR Asa Jackson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Darius Hillary, WR Jordan Leslie
- Cut: E.J. Bibbs
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Quentin Gause, TE Steven Scheu (Twitter link via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post)
- Cut: WR Mose Frazier, LB Richard Cliett
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Brandon Chubb
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Marcus Leak, CB Frankie Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Jamil Douglas (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
- Cut: OL Ian Silberman
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DL Royce LaFrance (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate)
New York Giants
- Signed: LS Tyler Ott
- Cut: DB Doran Grant
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OL Don Cherry
- Cut: G Darrell Greene
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR DeAndre Smelter
- Cut: WR Dres Anderson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Cut: DE Sterling Bailey
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
49ers Bring CB Will Redmond Back From IR
The 49ers announced that they are bringing cornerback Will Redmond back from injured reserve. Redmond becomes the team’s one short-term IR player for the season, meaning that they cannot bring anyone else back from IR. The team now has a 21-day window to monitor him in practice. If all goes well, he could debut as early as Dec. 6 against the Saints. 
Redmond, a third-round pick out of Mississippi State, tore his ACL last October. The defensive back showed plenty of talent while in college, but the 49ers still weren’t convinced that he was fully healthy.
The cornerback was late to sign his contract and did not put pen to paper with SF until June. The 22-year-old (23 in December) saw action in three seasons for the Bulldogs, playing in 27 games and making seven starts — all of which coming during the 2015 season. He made 25 tackles and two interceptions for Mississippi State last season, and despite the lack of experience as a starter decided to leave school early.
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.
[RELATED: San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart]
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.