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Colin Kaepernick is 49ers’ version of my broken down truck

Colin Kaepernick

I have a truck I’ve loved and owned for years now.

It’s been sitting in the front of my house, inoperable for the past half-year while I save up the funds to fix it up. It’s a really good truck.

Perhaps this is why I’ve had no less than half a dozen inquiries since it broke down about selling it for cheap.

I really wasn’t interested in selling, but I figured I’d be a fool to not at least investigate how much it is worth in today’s market. So I did some research and set my price.

People haven’t been interested in buying my truck at my price, and it’s understandable. It’s on the top end of what the truck is worth, yet there are still some repairs that must be made and some registration issues to be taken care of before the truck can be driven.

But it’s still a really good truck, and I wasn’t really interested in selling in the first place. In fact, I’m hoping to finally have what I need to get it back on the road soon, and I’m going to drive the heck out of it when I do get it up and running.

Watching the drama play out recently since Colin Kaepernick had his agents request permission to seek a trade away from the San Francisco 49ers, it dawned on me: Kap is the broken down truck the 49ers want to get fixed up and running at a high level.

If you believe the company line coming out of Santa Clara since the end of the 2015 season, the 49ers are not interested in trading Kaepernick, let alone releasing him as some have suggested as a possibility.

In fact, they’d really like to keep him and get him back to his 2012-13 form. Before a couple of rough seasons, Kaepernick was a rising star in the eyes of many, and for good reason.

A dynamic dual-threat quarterback, Kaepernick racked up 5,950 total yards with 40 touchdowns during his first 23 starts. He also led the 49ers to two straight NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl, falling one play short of winning it all in 2012.

Colin Kaepernick

Additionally, he put on one of the best postseason performances in the history of the NFL against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round that year, rushing for 181 yards and two scores, adding another 263 yards and two touchdowns passing the ball.

The 49ers inexplicably tried to turn him into something he’s not — a pocket passer — in 2014, and he predictably regressed a bit. While his statistics might show improvements in yardage, he never got into a groove. As a result of his discomfort at being a square peg shoved into a round hole, the offense didn’t get into a groove, either, and the 49ers went 8-8.

The wheels of the bus came falling off completely last season, but that’s understandable, too.

In addition to being subject to a coaching staff that can only be described as an abject failure, Kaepernick suffered a torn labrum and two other injuries, leading to three offseason surgeries.

He’s still not ready to play as he recovers from his procedures, but when he’s healthy Kap is still the same athlete and performer he was in 2013 when he was giving defensive coordinators nightmares on a weekly basis.

This is why the 49ers aren’t interested in letting him go. Not really.

Courtesy of Kyle Terada, USA Today Sports than Chip Kelly.

For this reason, the 49ers aren’t going to budge on their set price, which is reportedly a second-round pick.

In the same way I’m not going to be swayed into letting someone get a smoking deal on my currently inoperable truck, the 49ers aren’t going to be swindled into letting Kaepernick leave town without getting terrific value.

The latest reports are that the 49ers would rather Kaepernick simply rescind his trade request and show up for work this spring for OTAs and team minicamps. That would be the best course of action for him at this time if he wants to win the upcoming competition for the gig, which is really the best thing that could happen to everyone at this point in time.

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