49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's future in San Francisco has been in question since his midseason benching, and reports even surfaced in November that the 49ers quarterback was "virtually certain" to not be back in 2016. The 49ers have already officially named Chip Kelly their next head coach and have assembled their coaching staff, and the 49ers front office may have just solved another issue, as it looks like they will give Kaepernick another opportunity in San Francisco, according to CSN Bay Area.
"I'm not going to decide who the starting quarterback is. That's our coach, and then the staff," 49ers CEO Jed York said, via the Rich Eisen Show. "But I think the nice thing is we have the third-most salary cap room in the league, and everybody wants to make a big issue of, 'Well, you need to make a decision on Colin.' Etcetera, etcetera. We want Colin to get back healthy as soon as possible. We want to make sure he's able to take the field whenever he's available. I've always had a very, very high opinion of Kap. Kap's a great kid, he's done a lot of great things for us. And again, this is a fresh start for everybody."
While the 49ers may have the third-most salary cap room in the league, they already signed Kaepernick to a six-year, $126 million deal back in 2014, and the move is looking very questionable after posting a starting record of 2-6 this past season. While Kaepernick didn't show anything on the field this past season to show he deserves the massive contract he was given, the 49ers CEO clearly still believes in him and likely hopes he can return to his old form in 2016.
"And we've all seen what Colin can do," York said, via the Rich Eisen Show. "Taking us to a Super Bowl, an NFC Championship game the year after, He's had a great career here. Obviously last year wasn't a great year for any of us in red and gold. And I think Chip is going to be a great addition, not just for Kap, but for the rest of the team. I'm excited to see where it goes."
Kelly's fast-paced offensive system could fit extremely well with Kaepernick and his ability to move the chains with his feet in San Francisco, but in a division with the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers clearly have a ton of work to do before returning to the conversation in the NFC West. The 49ers have plenty of player personnel decisions to make this offseason and have the seventh pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. It will be interesting to follow the 49ers this offseason both in their free agency moves and regarding their highly paid quarterback, as there are still plenty of questions that remain unanswered in San Francisco.
