San Francisco 49ers: Evaluating the Quarterback Situation in 2016
The 2016 league year is well under way and the 49ers’ quarterback situation remains very much in flux. It is unclear if Colin Kaepernick will even be on the team or, should he stay with San Francisco, whether he or Blaine Gabbert or a potential draft pick will be the starter come Week 1 of the 2016 season.
That Kaepernick remains on the team at this point is something of a surprise. The Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets have all shown interest in trading for Kaepernick, who appears keen on revitalising his career away from Levi’s Stadium.
Cleveland has since said talk of a pursuit of Kaepernick was “over-reported”, per Cleveland.com, and – having signed Robert Griffin III – will almost certainly not be making any further push for a trade.
More from SF 49ers News
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- Updated 49ers salary cap space ahead of 2023 NFL Draft
- Deebo Samuel fully admits his hatred of LA Rams
- Brock Purdy jokingly says he’s learning to throw left-handed
- 49ers news: Trey Lance is in the dark regarding trade talk
Meanwhile, Jets owner Woody Johnson’s plea to Ryan Fitzpatrick to “come back to the Jets” serves as another clear indicator New York would much rather stick with its 2015 starter than part with compensation in order to land Kaepernick.
If both the Browns and Jets are out then that leaves Denver as the only horse in the Kaepernick race and the Broncos who – per NFL Media’s Mike Silver – believe he is worth a fourth-round pick, already have a backup plan having struck a deal for Mark Sanchez.
Denver is seemingly in no rush to overpay to bring Kaepernick in and the 49ers, despite general manager Trent Baalke – per CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco – confirming they had allowed his agents to seek a trade, are more than willing to keep him on the roster beyond the April 1 deadline when his $11.9million base salary becomes fully guaranteed.
What we told [Kaepernick’s agents] was that they were open to exploring options. But our intent was for him to be back and to go to work. He’s under contract and until that changes, our expectations don’t change” -Trent Baalke
While the Niners expect Kaepernick to report for the team’s offseason program on April 4, the fact San Francisco is willing to let him explore his options indicates Baalke is not the signal-caller’s biggest fan, something that many have suspected for some time.
Silver, per David Fucillo of Niners Nation, recently reported that Baalke “loves” Gabbert, although, if Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole is to be believed, it will be head coach Chip Kelly who decides the future of Kaepernick and not San Francisco’s GM.
Kelly, according to Maiocco, recently said he is “a big Kap fan” at Stanford’s pro day and expressed his intention to “coach the heck” out of Kaepernick should he still be on the Niners by the time the voluntary workout program begins.
The Niners coach followed those comments up by insisting there has never been any thought of releasing Kaepernick from his contract.
"“I love his skillset. I don’t know until you get to work with a guy on a daily basis whether he’s this or that. You just turn on the tape and watch what he’s done in this league. It’s pretty impressive.” – Chip Kelly"
But regardless of whether the 49ers keep Kaepernick around, the noises coming out of the organization in the pre-draft process suggest they will be adding another quarterback to the depth chart.
According to Fucillo, the 49ers have met with a number of quarterbacks in the build up to the draft, including Jared Goff, Connor Cook, Paxton Lynch, Dak Prescott and Vernon Adams.
Either Goff or Carson Wentz will be the first quarterback off the board and will likely to be taken by the Browns with the No. 2 pick if projections are to be believed. Picking at No. 7 in the first round, the 49ers are in a good position to choose the QB who is not selected by Cleveland.
Goff is the most pro-ready quarterback in the class having displayed tremendous poise and accuracy in his college career with California and the decision to draf a local prospect who grew up supporting the Niners would go some way to appeasing fans disillusioned by the firing of Jim Harbaugh and the debacle that was the 2015 season under replacement Jim Tomsula.
However, Wentz has also displayed above-average ball placement in college and his ability to do more with his legs than Goff could make him the better fit for Kelly’s fast-paced offense, which requires a quarterback who can get the ball out quickly and accurately and can be particularly effective with a signal-caller who can make an impact on the ground.
Lynch, Prescott and Adams – who played his last college season with Oregon running Kelly’s system under Mark Helfrich – also have that dual threat as quarterbacks and figure to be good fits later in the draft should the Niners to choose to address one of their plethora of other needs in the first round.
What the 49ers do in the first round could well hinge on Kaepernick. If he is still on the team by the time the draft rolls around then it would be no shock to see San Francisco allow Kelly to treat Kaepernick as his personal reclamation project and attempt to get the former Nevada star’s career back on track.
Should that be the case it makes more sense for the Niners to wait it out until the later rounds and develop a quarterback behind Kaepernick and Gabbert, who the organization has faith in both as a backup and a starter.
Gabbert appeared much more composed than in his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars after taking over for Kaepernick and took better care of the ball, however, he has limited upside and – if Kaepernick moves on – the 49ers can not put their trust in him to be a long-term option at the position and should look to bring in either Goff or Wentz.
There appears to be no resolution in sight in the Kaepernick saga and, at this point, the smart money says he will still be on the roster by the time the Niners make their first selection in the draft. With the holes San Francisco has on defense and the offensive line, it may be the best case scenario that the 49ers allow Kaepernick and Gabbert to compete and draft a rookie passer from outside the first round while re-building the roster around the trio of quarterbacks.