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Earlier this week, Green Bay Packers rookie Datone Jones had some words of wisdom for the San Francisco 49ers and Colin Kaepernick: Stop running or Kap will get injured.

Jones’ full quote is below. When he gave the comments about Kaepernick he was talking about the Packers vs. 49ers divisional round playoff game:

I thought he was pretty good. But I don’t think they’re going to be able to run him like that. He takes one good hit, there goes their season.

Unless you are a Packers fan you are probably wondering, who the heck is Datone Jones? He was selected by Green Bay in the first-round of last month’s draft as a linebacker out of UCLA. A big reason why the Packers decided to select Jones is because he was known for his skills facing read-option offenses in college.

Kaepernick set an NFL record for most rushing yards by quarterback in a playoff game when he rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the 45-31 win over Green Bay. The Packers coaching staff had no answers for stopping Kaepernick and the read-option. With the rise of running quarterbacks last season like Kap and Robert Griffin III, the Packers are hoping the selection of Jones will help the team avoid giving up big plays to running quarterbacks. Green Bay’s coaches even went to Texas A&M in the offseason for a better understanding of stopping the read-option.

One issue I have with Jones’ comments is he makes it seem like the 49ers offense completely revolves around the read-option and Kaepernick running the football. All one would have to do is look at the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons that followed the Packers game to see that is not true. Kap only had two carries for 21 yards against Falcons. Plus, a majority of his runs last season came on broken pass plays where the no one was open or the protection broke down. In fact, most of his runs in the game against the Packers were on scrambles.

Another issue with Jones’ comments is he thinks Kaepernick is a careless runner. However, I don’t recall any major hits Kap took last season. That’s because when running the read-option, if there is nowhere to run, Kap can just hand it off. If a team focuses in on stopping him from running, he either hands it off to the running back or looks to pass the football. See the game against the Falcons.

The reason why Kaepernick continued running against the Packers in the divisional playoff game is because Green Bay’s defense could not stop him. I doubt Jones watched all of the games Kap started last season. Because if he had, he would have seen the read-option is only a small part of the Niners offense.

The Packers will not have to wait long to see if their offseason tutorials and the drafting of Jones to stop the read-option will pay off. The 49ers will host the Packers in Week 1 to open the 2013 season.

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Over the weekend the NFL announced former 49ers linebacker and current free agent Larry Grant will be suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season. The suspension was handed out because Grant violated the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

Grant has only had a handful of visits with teams after he became a free agent in March. He was originally selected in the seventh-round of the 2008 draft by San Francisco, but he played his rookie season with the St. Louis Rams after being signed off the 49ers practice squad.

The Niners re-signed Grant in 2011 and he has played in every game the last two seasons either at linebacker or on special teams. If you recall, Grant made a name for himself in 2011 filling in for injured starter Patrick Willis. In the three games Grant started in place of Willis, the linebacker recorded 28 tackles, five passes defensed, one sack and one forced fumble. Last season, however, he saw limited action on the field at linebacker.

This will likely end Grant’s quest to find a team where he can compete for a starting job at linebacker. It also means he may not sign with a team until after he serves his four-game suspension in the regular season. If a team does sign Grant before the start of the regular season, he would be able to practice and play in the preseason. But this is highly unlikely as teams will not want to waste a roster spot on a player who would not be available until the fifth week of the season.

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Monday marked the start of the San Francisco 49ers long road back to the Super Bowl as players attended voluntary workouts at team headquarters in Santa Clara. The voluntary workouts are part of the team’s nine-week offseason program.

Some of the players in attendance on the first day of workouts included LB Patrick Willis, CB Nnamdi Asomugha, FB Bruce Miller, RB Anthony Dixon, LB Aldon Smith, LT Joe Staley and QB Colin Kaepernick. All of the players are limited to only strength and conditioning workouts, and physical rehabilitation. This period will last for the next two weeks.

The second phase of the offseason workouts allows Niners coaches to work with players on the football field. That will be followed by organized team activities which are also voluntary. The only mandatory workouts are the 49ers minicamp that will run from June 11-13.

It has been a long two and a half months since the heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Just like the players, Niner fans everywhere are just as excited to see the start of voluntary workouts so the quest for a six franchise championship can begin anew. Watching a video of the players working out and talking about beginning the 2013 season got me pumped up. You can watch the video by clicking here.

Quotes from players after the first day of voluntary workouts:

Asomugha: This is the grind period, the work period. To have so many guys out here, it’s encouraging.

Trenton Robinson: It feels good to come back and know what’s expected of you. You know what you need to do and you know what you need to do to perform and to play. I’m excited to get back and to see guys in the locker room and get ready to do these lifts, OTAs and get into camp.

Perrish Cox: First day, you’re basically seeing the brothers. You’ve been away from them all offseason, you get to see everyone you play with and it’s like being back at home with your brothers.