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San Francisco 49ers: Believe rumors that Colin Kaepernick is on trading block

ByBrian Spaen|

The San Francisco 49ers could have put their star quarterback on the trading block. Obviously, the team is denying the rumors, but there’s many reasons why it could be true. It’s also not a very good idea.

First, let’s get this out of the way immediately. Any rumor that flies out of the 49ers organization should be taken seriously. There’s a bigger hole in the front office than what took down the Titanic.

Jayson Braddock, a sports talk show host at KBME SportsTalk 790 in Houston, first reported the rumors late on Sunday night.

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Braddock said that the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears are potential players in a trade. Naturally, general manager Trent Baalke denied the report and wagged his finger at the media (via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area).

"“Colin is our quarterback and we are excited to have him,” Baalke said in a statement. “He is not going anywhere. The media reports suggesting otherwise are without merit and, quite frankly, ridiculous.”"

It should be noted that Baalke was the same guy that barely made himself public, agreeing to do a weekly spot with Damon Bruce on 95.7 The GAME. He hated going into the swirling rumors, so he kept saying how he didn’t know where the media was getting this information because it simply wasn’t true. Baalke continued playing that card even after Jim Harbaugh was fired parted ways.

A rumor is probably more believable than anything that comes out of Baalke’s mouth. That rumor’s source still backs their claim as of Monday morning.

Speaking of Harbaugh, him and Kaepernick felt inseparable. Even when the quarterback started struggling on the field, the former head coach always had his back when critics attacked him during postgame press conferences.

Kaepernick certainly lost an anchor with Harbaugh’s departure. It was expected that he needed to consistently put up a better effort than he did in 2014, or else his career with the 49ers could be over soon. But this soon?

It’s possible the 49ers just wanted to put Kaepernick on the block to see what the offers would be, but that would be an incredibly stupid idea if true. He would obviously be undervalued after his worst season and it would create even more unnecessary drama.

Plus, trading him would cost the 49ers $10 million on their salary cap. What’s the point?

However, we can’t put anything past this franchise these days. They pushed out one of the best coaches in the league. One day they’re talking about “winning with class,” the next day they pick up drug dealing Jerome Simpson.

What makes the potential trade so puzzling is owner Jed York recently praised Kaepernick at the NFL Scouting Combine on live TV. They also promoted Geep Chryst to offensive coordinator, and York believed that he would be valuable there since he’s worked with Kaepernick. Of course, that decision was made when the 49ers couldn’t get an OC anywhere else.

There’s also not a better quarterback available. Sure, the relationship between Jay Cutler and the Bears looks to be on its last thread, but is he better than Kaepernick? Is Nick Foles better? When we’ve seen Kaepernick at his best, absolutely not.

Let’s not even worry about diving into the long-term projects of Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston by trying to move up in the draft or the bleak free agency that is highlighted by…Jake Locker?

The only way the 49ers should consider trading their quarterback is if he’s not on the same page with what’s been going on this offseason and he can’t be convinced to stick around. However, Kaepernick tends to me more of a humble guy and it would be a surprise to see him put out such demands. Also, expectations have fallen so low in San Francisco that he might play more loose and comfortable, especially if the offense caters to his running ability.

Believe the unbelievable when it comes to the 2015 San Francisco 49ers offseason. Let’s hope for once that this rumor is actually false.

Next: 49ers owner needs to clarify winning with class

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