There is always a lot of posturing and misinformation in the NFL around this time of year which makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction. Take the San Francisco 49ers, for example. Earlier this week, it was reported that the 49ers would not be trading quarterback Colin Kaepernick unless they were "blown away" by an offer. Given Kaepernick's struggles over the past two seasons, that's unlikely to happen.
So was this just a bit of maneuvering on San Fran's part or are they seriously considering keeping Kaepernick? If it's the latter, it's fair to wonder if that takes them out of the QB market come draft time.
Kaepernick's 2016 salary of $11.9 million becomes fully guaranteed on Friday if he remains on San Fran's roster, but that doesn't guarantee him a spot on the field. He was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert last year before he missed the remainder of the season with thumb and knee injuries. I'm no NFL general manager, but it seems like paying your backup QB nearly $12 million is a poor allocation of resources.
Even if that is the case, new head coach Chip Kelly may just want to use Kaepernick as a stopgap (he can be released at this time again next year with little financial consequence) while he develops his own signal-caller. Neither he nor GM Trent Baalke would rule out a QB at No. 7 overall.
"And whether we stay at seven, there's a possibility we move up [or] there's a possibility we move back," Baalke said at last week's NFL owners meetings. "This draft is going to have some fluidity to it in terms of willingness to move in every round."
The Niners have 12 picks this year, eight of which can be traded.
The top two quarterbacks in this year's draft class are Cal's Jared Goff and North Dakota State's Carson Wentz. Memphis' Paxton Lynch is also considered a first-round talent by many evaluators.
Kelly was asked about Goff and Wentz recently, but wouldn't tip his hand.
"I have not seen Wentz in person," Kelly said. "I saw him at the combine, and I just went to Jared's pro day on Friday. I'm impressed with both of those guys. I think they're really talented. I think there are a couple of really talented quarterbacks.
"That will be the interesting thing in this draft - when do quarterbacks go? Are people going to trade to get quarterbacks? That's probably the intriguing storyline of this draft."
While Kelly admitted that he thought both passers were talented, he also noted that neither is as highly regarded as James Winston and Marcus Mariota were last year.
"It's a different group of quarterbacks," Kelly said. "There's on kid who's coming out of 1-AA [Wentz], who's extremely talented and has an unbelievable skill set. But people are still trying to figure him out in terms of what exactly he is.
"When you get a chance to see Jared in person, he can really throw the football."
Will either player be the pick if Kaepernick is still on the roster? We'll have to wait to find out.
Follow Brandon Katz on Twitter at @Great_Katzby
