Cleveland Browns Should Take a Flier on Colin Kaepernick

The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback, and Colin Kaepernick needs a new team. The fit could be there if the right circumstances were to arise.

Nobody should be surprised that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick wants a new home.

That Kaepernick is looking to be traded, as explained by Paul Gutierrez of ESPN, was first reported by NFL Network on February 25. While some were quick to assume that new San Francisco head coach Chip Kelly would work to resurrect Kaepernick’s career, all would do well to remember that the 28-year-old QB has not enjoyed the best of times out west as of late.

It seems as if it was during a different lifetime when Kaepernick was helping the 49ers reach NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl. Kaepernick quickly fell out of favor with then-head coach Jim Tomsula in 2015, so much so that Tomsula replaced Kaepernick with Blaine Gabbert — yes, that Blaine Gabbert — before Kaepernick’s season ended due to a shoulder injury.

In Tomsula’s defense, Kaepernick was hardly playing like a franchise QB before Gabbert was given the keys to the San Francisco offense. Kaepernick had worked out with retired QB Kurt Warner during the offseason in 2015 to work on his mechanics. Those sessions may have done Kaepernick more harm than good, as his footwork and throwing motion during games last fall were wonky and, at times, even awful.

A fresh start for Kaepernick could be provided to him by the Cleveland Browns, and the Browns would be wise to not wait on pulling the trigger on such a deal if new Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson is interested.

We know that Jackson was infatuated with coaching Kaepernick in the past. Jackson, per Marcus Allen Krause of SB Nation blog Silver & Black Pride, spoke about what could have been back in 2013.

"“I think about it all the time, believe me,” Jackson said “No question in my mind we wanted it to happen, and no question I thought it could happen. We wanted the kid in the worst way.”"

Jackson and the Oakland Raiders lost out on Kaepernick to the 49ers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Now the head coach of a Browns team that is (still) searching for a franchise QB, Jackson could right a past wrong next month.

What’s the rush for the Browns possibly pursuing Kaepernick? For starters, the Browns probably won’t be the only team interested in at least calling the 49ers about Kaepernick’s availability. The Philadelphia Eagles could use another body at the QB position of the depth chart. Include the St. Louis Rams and New York Jets on the list of teams who should consider acquiring Kaepernick.

If the 49ers are willing to grant Kaepernick’s wish and trade him, it would suggest that Kelly reviewed enough game film to be convinced that either he could not save Kaepernick’s career or that Kaepernick was not a proper fit for the offensive scheme that Kelly was going to install in San Francisco. Kelly never drafted Kaepernick, and thus it is not unreasonable that he would be open to the 49ers getting whatever they can get for the QB.

It behooves the 49ers to act swiftly if Kelly does not view Kaepernick as his starting QB. Kaepernick, per Spotrac, signed one of the stranger contracts you’ll see in the NFL these days back in 2014, one that could be worth over $100 million but also a deal that allows the 49ers to cut ties with Kaepernick before April 1 of a given year before the player’s salary is guaranteed.

In short, the 49ers have about a month to decide if they want to keep, deal or cut Kaepernick.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained last November, Kaepernick going out of the way to make the move to a different team before April of this year does not, on paper, make a ton of sense.

"Which means that Kaepernick possibly would have to agree to a revised deal in order to facilitate a trade. But why should he? Any new deal he signs with a new team as part of a trade could be signed with that same team after he is released.And that’s where this could be likely heading. The 49ers have until April 1 to cut or trade Kaepernick before his base salary for 2016 becomes fully guaranteed. Kaepernick could just dig in his heels, refuse to restructure, and wait for the money to become fully guaranteed — or for Kaepernick to be free and unfettered to join a new team without that new team having to give up anything to get him."

Perhaps, if the NFL Network report is true, Kaepernick has evaluated his options and decided that asking for a trade is what is best for his career.