San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick would be wise to stay
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick wants out when it comes to the San Francisco 49ers but in the grand scheme of it all, he would be wise to actually stick around.
The 49ers were in complete and utter disarray last season. They ended 2015 at 5-11 and in the very bottom of the NFC West. This offseason however, they are now looking to regain some of their identity heading into free agency and the 2016 NFL Draft. They started it off with a big announcement when they fired Jim Tomsula and eventually replaced him with Chip Kelly.
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Now, many look at Kelly in a controversial fashion due to his previous tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite all the controversy, he did bring them success for the most part until things didn’t work out as envisioned last season.
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With a new head coach comes a renewed excitement that everyone is now on a clean slate and able to get a fresh restart. That is exactly what is happening with Kelly who is undoubtedly excited to get to work with his new team. Of course when it comes to him and his high-octane offense, he’ll need a dual-threat and highly talented quarterback to execute.
It wasn’t too long ago that Kaepernick was considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Not only was he dazzling fans across the world with his incredible skill-set, he took the 49ers to a Super Bowl and almost won it. Then it was faster than a New York minute that the 49ers started to implode and he faded away into a distant memory.
Over the past few years, some of the best players on the 49ers suddenly bolted via free agency, retired or wanted to take their services elsewhere. They fired Jim Harbaugh and made a terrible decision with Tomsula that didn’t even last more than a season. The 49ers are now in a position to try and redeem themselves believing Kelly can come right in and provide immediate results.
As reported by Mike Norris of BleacherReport.com, the 49ers don’t plan to cut Kaepernick before April 1st when his roster bonus kicks in. As far as they are concerned, he’ll be on the roster and competing for the starting quarterback position come training camps. Of course, in that same report, Kaepernick’s agents have requested permission by the team to be traded.
It’s obvious Kaepernick feels he shouldn’t have to compete for a starting position since he’s done it before and was very successful. The 49ers did a lousy job in surrounding him with a better supporting cast the past few years to be competitive and it unfortunately regressed his talents.
Everything considered though, Kaepernick would be wise to see how Kelly will not only transform the 49ers’ offense but the overall identity of the team as a whole. Kelly will no doubt bring a major jolt to their offense and could be the missing component to revitalize Kaepernick’s career to when he was lighting up the scoreboard and doing his famous “Kaepernicking” after every touchdown.
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Kaepernick should give it a chance to see how things go then determine what to do if it’s not to his liking. While he’d have to compete with Blaine Gabbert and others for the starting quarterback spot this summer, he might get to experience an incredible season under Kelly that could transform him into an elite quarterback once again.