Niners to hold onto QB Kaepernick; could impact draft plans … In a bit of a surprise, it appaers that San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick won’t be going anywhere, at least in the short term. 49ers’ GM Trent Baalke told reporters today at the scouting combine in Indianapolis that Kaepernick will remain on the team’s roster through April 1st when his $12 million salary for 2016 becomes guaranteed. The plan for the 49ers is to have Kaepernick compete with Blaine Gabbert for the starting job this fall. After a very positive start to his career in which he threw for over 3,000 yards in both 2013 and 2014, Kaepernick really struggled last fall and was ultimately benched in favor of Gabbert. New 49ers’ head coach Chip Kelly hasn’t said much about his plans at the quarterback position, but Kaepernick’s skills as both a runner and a passer could make him a good fit in Kelly’s high-octane offense, especially if he is healthy after undergoing three different surgeries last year. Given these developments it will be interesting to see if the 49ers also go after a young QB early in the 2016 draft where they have the 7th pick overall. The expectation had been that Kaepernick was likely done with the 49ers and the team would take a QB such as Cal’s Jared Goff with the 7th pick, but San Francisco now may be tempted to address some of the other major needs that have crept into the roster, such as an edge rusher, while they wait to see how the Kaepernick-Gabbert duo develops under Kelly. Stay tuned!
