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San Francisco 49ers: 5 Easy Steps to Help Fix the Franchise in 2016

By Peter Panacy

January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York (left), Chip Kelly (center), and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) pose for a photo in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York (left), Chip Kelly (center), and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) pose for a photo in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Quarterback Colin Kaepernick's request for a trade is a clear sign of his unhappiness in San Francisco with the 49ers. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s request for a trade is a clear sign of his unhappiness in San Francisco with the 49ers. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Cut Ties with Colin Kaepernick

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick isn’t happy in San Francisco. Why would he be? After all he went through following the demise of former head coach Jim Harbaugh — the leaks, rumors, benching, injuries and speculation — it’s not hard to understand why Kaepernick’s camp requested a trade early this offseason.

San Francisco holds all the cards with its embattled quarterback. The 49ers could easily retain him with the hopes he finds some magic with new head coach Chip Kelly. The Niners could also release him prior to April 4 before his guaranteed 2016 salary goes into effect. Or the team could try and move him via a trade.

Unfortunately, as described by Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, neither of the three options are clear-cut choices:

"The time for Kelly to really go to work on winning over Kaepernick has basically passed — again, assuming that was ever even something this franchise had in mind — and with April 1 looming, time is running out. Which brings us to the outcome that was probably most likely all along. Kaepernick wants out now, so he could hit the market on March 9 when the market opens to try to find the best team and contract possible, hence the trade demand. And the 49ers could squat on him until the end of March, wait for teams to blow their free agent budgets and sign the other quarterbacks and get deep into their meetings and visits with the quarterbacks in this draft, and then cut a still-injured Kaepernick just before his 2016 contract becomes guaranteed with his options elsewhere even further limited."

Should the 49ers want to retain Kap, they would have a likely unhappy quarterback on their roster and, possibly, an $11.9 million backup if he didn’t win out the starting job.

And certainly the controversy behind Kaepernick and the organization would continue into the season regardless of how the depth chart pans out. That ship has likely sailed.

If the Niners can get anything out of a Kaepernick deal on the trade market, they should go for it. And if the market is bone dry and no teams are legitimately interested, San Francisco should do both parties a favor and simply cut him prior to the April 1 deadline.

Doing so would be painful, true, but would be a clear sign the franchise is embarking on a new direction with a new identity — the element the 49ers need most right now.

Next: Find the Right Pieces, Not the Best Ones