The play of Colin Kaepernick improved as the 2016 went along. Still, new San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch knows the play of the team’s quarterback position must get better.
“Do we have some places — probably the ultimate position, quarterback — where we need to improve? Absolutely,” Lynch said on KNBR, H/T Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee. “And we’re committed to doing that. But there’s some pieces there that have me excited, have Kyle excited. So there’s a long list of things, but we’re working hard at all of them.”
In one respect, it’s undeniable. In the span of three seasons, the 49ers have gone from one of the NFL’s best teams to one of its worst. That’s been precipitated by many factors. One of those factors has been a rapid drop in production from the team’s quarterbacks.
Still, the San Francisco offense generally improved in 2016 after Blaine Gabbert was replaced by Kaepernick. Kaepernick didn’t play at a Hall of Fame level. But his overall game looked the best it had in two years.
Additionally, Kaepernick recently met with the 49ers. According to Lynch himself, the meeting was a success, which you can read about here.
Working against Lynch and San Francisco is an unimpressive quarterback market (more on that here).
Free agent Kirk Cousins is an intriguing name, especially given his history with new coach Kyle Shanahan. But after Cousins, the potential market includes injury prone veterans (Tony Romo), shaky veterans (Jay Cutler), largely unproven youngsters (Jimmy Garoppolo), and a generally underwhelming draft class.