Amid all the trade rumors surrounding San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, he still remains on the team that drafted him back in 2011.
Seemingly not in a hurry to move on from the previously successful signal caller after he demanded a trade last month, head coach Chip Kelly indicated on Wednesday that he has recently talked with the embattled quarterback.
Kelly’s words, which should always be taken with a grain of salt, were interesting:
“If he’s here on April 4 we’re going to coach the heck out of him and he’s going to work his ass off,” Kelly said via The Sacramento Bee.
Kelly had indicated pretty much the same thing during his introductory presser with San Francisco back in January. Though, that came before reports of Kaepernick’s agents demanding a trade.
If San Francisco doesn’t move on from Kaepernick by April 1st, his entire 2016 base salary of $11.9 million becomes guaranteed. Any team acquiring the quarterback would likely want to rework that deal.
As it relates to the 49ers’ quarterback situation, Blaine Gabbert and the recently signed Thaddeus Lewis are the only two other players at this position currently on the roster.
San Francisco has been linked to Robert Griffin III recently. It also boasts the seventh pick in April’s draft, which could enable the team to land one of the top-two quarterbacks.
The 49ers have reportedly engaged in trade talks with the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos for the quarterback.
Denver reportedly has Kaepernick’s value set at a fourth-round pick, something San Francisco seems dead set against. Meanwhile, the quarterback is apparently apprehensive to take a smaller deal in order to join the Browns. He also seems to have some issues with the team’s off-season moves (or lack thereof).
Based on Kelly’s recent comments, it seems he’s more than willing to work with a player that has requested a trade.
If nothing else, this might prove he’s changed his ways a tad from the enigmatic coaching style we saw in Philadelphia.