The San Francisco 49ers recently placed Colin Kaepernick on injured reserve, but they tried to place the beleaguered quarterback on a different roster before that.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, at least three teams inquired about Kaepernick before the trade deadline. However, Rapoport notes no franchise was able to take on the dual-threat’s lofty contract.
Kaepernick, whose 2015 campaign is over because of a shoulder injury, might still be on his way out of San Francisco, though. The 49ers are likely to explore trade options during the offseason, or if no team is interested and they feel quarterback is stable enough without Kap, flat-out release him.
The issue isn’t whether or not someone else wants him. As Rapoport said, the potential buyers popping up in the trade market proved as much.
Among other possibilities, the Houston Texans seem like a reasonable landing spot and a roster in need of a quarterback. The Cleveland Browns also come to mind, especially if the Johnny Manziel experiment is officially deemed a failure after the final stretch of this year.
Kaepernick is talented enough to earn another shot, and he should receive multiple opportunities before his NFL career is over.
If the 49ers keep him, however, they must assemble a better coaching staff that better matches Kaepernick’s needs, because the 2015 edition of the men calling shots on offense is a failure.