Benched midway through the 2015 season, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been flooding the news headlines since free agency started.
With Kaepernick’s status reportedly up in the air in San Francisco and rumors afloat that he is seeking a trade, new head coach Chip Kelly set the record straight Wednesday morning.
Chip Kelly says the possibility of the #49ers seeking a release of QB Colin Kaepernick before April 1 has not even been up for discussion.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) March 23, 2016
April 1st is an important date. Kaepernicks $12 million salary for next season becomes fully guaranteed then if he’s still a member of the team.
Kelly also defended his quarterback, per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.
“It’s not like his skill set diminished. He didn’t fall off, he got hurt. Let’s get him healthy.”
Over the past several weeks, we have heard reports that Kaepernick was interested in being traded to the Cleveland Browns. After it appeared trade talks took place between San Francisco and Cleveland, the quarterback seemingly backed out.
There have also been rumblings coming from Denver that the Broncos might be interested in Kaepernick.
It stands to reason that releasing the quarterback wouldn’t be on the table with reported interest in his services on the trade market.
Though, now according to Kelly, the team appears to be completely content with keeping Kaepernick on board to compete with Blaine Gabbert for the starting job.
However, there is still time for a quarterback-needy Broncos to jump back into the picture and continue with their pursuit of Kaepernick.
With many teams in need of upgrades at quarterback, the Kaepernick storyline should remain a hot one to follow in the coming days and weeks.