Nothing is written in stone at this point, but reading the tea leaves, Colin Kaepernick could very well return to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
If they want him back, of course.
In an article discussing how Kaepernick has changed agents ahead of the 2017 season, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee dropped this little nugget of information: “Kaepernick, according to those close to him, is open to returning to the 49ers in 2017.”
This may have seemed obvious when new general manager John Lynch said in his introductory press conference that Kaepernick had reached out to him. The two sides are going to sit down and chat about his future, which may or may not be with San Francisco (more on that here).
There aren’t many decent options when it comes to free agent quarterbacks, which we discussed in detail here. It might behoove the 49ers to retain Kaepernick, at least for another year, while they figure out who they’re going to target as the quarterback of the future — a prospect that could be pushed back into 2018, per Lynch.
Given Shanahan’s abilities as an offensive coordinator, and given Kaepernick’s nice season in 2016, having him come back next season wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.