San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick spent this offseason working out with former Super Bowl-winning signal-caller and part-time NFL analyst Kurt Warner, something about which the Niners organization is largely positive.
Kaepernick, still just 27, had something of a down year last season despite posting career-highs in completions (289) and yards (3,369). He also finished 2014 with the lowest QBR (55.9) and the most interceptions (10) of his four-year NFL career.
The fact that he sought out a guy uniquely qualified to offer advice on what it takes to succeed at the professional level in Warner, is a good thing and could potentially prove beneficial to his remaining career.
Still, while new Niners head coach Jim Tomsula and GM Trent Baalke are happy with Kaepernick's choice, they reportedly hold concerns over another aspect of his offseason work.
"Their concern was, while Kaepernick was working out and doing due diligence, they weren't part of that process. They were not able to observe those workouts because the collective bargaining agreement specifically prohibits teams from working with players during the offseason," Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reports.
"In talking to coach Jim Tomsula over the weekend, he said the 49ers love what they were doing. In fact they had Geep Chryst the new offensive coordinator talk with Kaepernick before he went off to do those workouts. However, Tomsula also wanted to send quarterbacks coach Steve Logan down to Arizona to observe those workouts. Ultimately, they said 'no.' General manager Trent Baalke said 'Look, let's not take a chance of violating the collective bargaining agreement by sending a coach down there and making it look like that coach might be working with Kaepernick, which would be a violation.'"
The latest CBA prohibits offseason contact between players and coaches - something which, per Cole, has caused much angst among NFL front offices.
For the Niners and Tomsula, having access to Kaepernick would have been a major boon as they look to implement a new offensive system and continue move beyond the Jim Harbaugh era.
Kaepernick has, per Taylor Price of 49ers.com, been one of the early standouts from the early portion of San Francisco's OTAs.
Still, concern seems to exist on the part of the Niners, according to Cole, and their inability to work with their young signal-caller this offseason has left lingering questions that have yet to be answered by a good first week.
"Now, the questions is, can Kaepernick carry whatever he was working with down in Arizona into the regular season to fix his mechanics, fix his ability to read the field and will the 49ers coaching staff know how to work with him based on all of that training?"
