If any team is going to make a trade for Colin Kaepernick this offseason, then it’s probably going to be the Denver Broncos, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
The Cleveland Browns have backed off since Kaepernick made it clear he is not interested in taking a pay cut to play for a team that just let most of its top talent walk out the door in free agency.
The New York Jets, once linked to Kaepernick, have never made any kind of move to indicate those early reports were anything more than a smokescreen.
This leaves John Elway and the Broncos as the only team left with any real interest that could potentially make a trade for Kaepernick. It’s well known that Denver is not in a great place at the quarterback position with the retirement of Peyton Manning and the departure of Brock Osweiler.
“I still hear the Broncos as being the team most interested in actually getting something done and, in the end, other clubs seem willing to call the 49ers’ bluff about keeping the disgruntled quarterback, going ahead and guaranteeing him that $12 million he is due while coming off three surgeries and actually to move forward with Kaepernick as their starter and attempt to rebuild shattered relationships and trust issues,” La Canfora writes.
It’s looking more and more like Kaepernick will be taking snaps for the San Francisco 49ers this upcoming season, unless Elway finally loses his nerve thinking about entering next year without a passer.
If Kaepernick is traded, then the 49ers could have a fall-back plan in Robert Griffin III. However, since last season ended in bitter disappointment for the organization until now there has been a constant message that the 49ers want Kaepernick back in San Francisco next year.
Most recently, head coach Chip Kelly talked up the quarterback and said he couldn’t wait to “coach the heck out of Kaepernick.”
Time will tell how this story ends, but for now 49ers fans shouldn’t be too concerned about seeing Kaepernick wearing different colors in 2016.