Colin Kaepernick has reportedly requested permission from the San Francisco 49ers to seek a trade. A few weeks ago, Kaepernick mentioned that he would like to be traded to the Jets. On April 1st, his base salary of $11.9 million becomes guaranteed. If a team were to trade for Kaepernick, the new squad would most likely have to restructure his contract that runs through 2020.
Before we get into some possible destinations for Kaepernick, two things come to mind immediately. First off, who does Kaepernick think he is? This is a player that has done very little to enhance the finer points of playing quarterback during his first five seasons in the NFL. Sure, he is a tremendous athlete and there is a lot here to work with, but he played very poorly last year and seems to have an inflated sense of his own worth. Granted, injuries factored into last season’s poor performance, but his tape is not pretty.
Secondly, you would think that Kaepernick would be excited about playing in Chip Kelly’s system. Clearly he has the athletic and running ability that Kelly was so successful with at the college level. He also has a huge arm and deep passing is an instrumental component of Kelly’s passing attack.
There is far more to playing in Kelly’s system than running the football and chucking it deep, but you would think there was an obvious match and opportunity between Kaepernick and his new coach. Under Jim Harbaugh, Kaepernick did his best work as a pro in San Francisco’s run-first offense and that is exactly what Kelly is looking to install.
However, it certainly has to be noted that those offenses were much more talented than the one currently in San Francisco, so maybe Kaepernick wants to be traded just because he sees who he would be playing alongside of in a 49ers uniform. And that is a little bit frightening as well as hazardous to his body behind this current offensive line.
But the facts are, even when Kaepernick was at his best, he was a flawed passer and reader of defenses, which is exactly what we saw from him in 2015. And in Kelly’s system, it is a requirement for the quarterback to be a quick reader of defenses and sharp decision maker.
But what teams might have interest in Kaepernick? The first team that comes to mind is Buffalo. That isn’t a knock on Tyrod Taylor. Taylor would still be the starter if the Bills were to bring in Kaepernick, but they certainly could use an upgrade over EJ Manuel and considering the hits the quarterback takes in this system, depth at quarterback is important.
But the main reason that the Bills come to mind is their offensive coordinator is Greg Roman, who worked that role under Harbaugh in San Francisco with Kaepernick. More so than any other play caller in the league, Roman knows what Kaepernick does well and what he struggles with. You would think this would put Buffalo in the lead for Kaepernick’s services, but on the other hand, Roman’s knowledge of the player might be exactly why the Bills would not be interested.
14 September 2015: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) in action during an NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The 49ers defeated the Vikings by the score of 20-3.
How about the Jets, who Kaepernick went out of his way to mention? New York’s offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has had great success with running quarterbacks like Kordell Stewart and Tyler Thigpen, but Kaepernick has very little similarities to Ryan Fitzpatrick (who it should be noted is a free agent) or even to Bryce Petty, who the Jets drafted last year with the intentions of grooming him for this offense.
In fact, Petty comes from a pure Baylor spread system where he was a catch-and-throw passer, albeit a very productive one at a college level. The Jets like to spread the field horizontally with three and even four wide receivers on the field mixed with a power running attack. Could Kaepernick fit in with this system? Possibly, and Gailey would surely alter some of what New York does offensively, but again, Kaepernick would have to become a much more precise and accurate passer.
Would quarterback-starved teams like Cleveland or Houston have interest in Kaepernick? Of course it is also possible and it could be argued that he would be an upgrade over what they have, but my hunch is that Hue Jackson and Bill O’Brien are after a much more traditional pocket passer in the Tom Brady/Andy Dalton mold. Kaepernick’s lack of discipline and uneven nature on the field could drive these two offensive-minded coaches mad.
The team that might fit Kaepernick best is the Rams. Jeff Fisher had great success with Steve McNair, although McNair was a much better passer than Kaepernick is right now, in a run-first offense. Los Angeles has work to do with their offensive line, but they did use a slew of draft picks on that group last year as well as a first-round pick on Todd Gurley to be the foundation of their offense.
They are going to be a run-first team. There is no question about that. However, the Rams used a mid-round pick on Sean Mannion, a stiff pocket passer, and have been rumored to have interest in Peyton Manning. Kaepernick couldn’t be any more different from Mannion and especially Manning, so maybe he isn’t the type of player at the position that Fisher now covets.
If the Rams were to acquire Kaepernick that should not at all preclude them from further addressing the position in the draft or in free agency. Kaepernick to Los Angeles is an interesting fit nonetheless, but here is the kicker with that scenario: Would San Francisco even consider trading him within the division? That seems unlikely.
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