Based on everything we’ve heard about Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers, nobody batted an eyelash when a report came out over the weekend that the quarterback would opt out of his contract with the team after this season.
Everyone but Kaepernick, that is.
Speaking about the report on Tuesday, Kaepernick expressed shock and dismay, not only by the “false” report itself but also by where it originated from.
"It blew me away where that came from or who said that," Kaepernick said on the false NFL network that he had decided to opt out.
— Kevin Lynch (@klynch49) December 6, 2016
The original report came by way of NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, who wrote, “Kaepernick will, in fact, void his contract before the league year and become a free agent, sources said.”
Kaepernick is not expected to make any decision about his contract with the 49ers until after the season, reports Kevin Lynch of SFGate.com.
Of course, this entire discussion might be null and void. What if the 49ers aren’t interested in keeping Kaepernick? Under the terms of the reworked contract the two sides agreed upon this season, the team is no longer financially tied in any way to penalties for cutting him after the season.
And based on how things are going, with San Francisco featuring an 11-game losing streak, it’s pretty safe to say the organization will be in a position to consider one of the top quarterbacks coming out of college this year.
Things are certainly up in the air right now in many ways for the 49ers. It’s unknown if the general manager, Trent Baalke, will retain his job, not to mention head coach Chip Kelly. It certainly won’t be a shock if Kaepernick is with another team as well, which we discussed here.
Regardless, it’s obvious enough that Kaepernick is not amused that his future is being decided for him in a public way by people who know not what they speak of.