The San Francisco 49ers may not be committed to Colin Kaepernick going forward, according to a new report.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport discussed the story on NFL Network Friday, saying that despite having a 6 year, $120 million contract, there’s little guaranteed to Kaepernick and the Niners wouldn’t suffer much if they cut ties early.
"There is no guarantee… that Kaepernick is going to be on the roster [in 2016].” (via @RapSheet) https://t.co/h90myHnBZY
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2015
“As you look toward next year, there is no guarantee based on this contract that Kaepernick is going to be on the roster,” said Rapoport. “In fact, his $14 million salary for next year doesn’t even become fully guaranteed until next April. So if Kaepernick continues to have this kind of performance, if he doesn’t pick it up, if he doesn’t earn his way on the roster, the 49ers can simply move on and have just $7 million in dead money in 2016.”
Kaepernick’s contract is structured so that the Niners can escape it if they don’t want to move forward with him, and given his struggles this season, San Francisco may wish to take that option. Kaepernick looks nothing like the young quarterback that took the 49ers to the Super Bowl, and with the franchise increasingly looking like they need a full rebuild, they may wish to start from scratch at the quarterback position.
That said, any decision isn’t coming until after the season. After all, coach Jim Tomsula says that Kaepernick is still the team’s quarterback.
