San Francisco 49ers Rumors: Robert Griffin III To 49ers After Colin Kaepernick Trade [Breaking]

San Francisco 49ers rumors link Robert Griffin III to the team again. There are also 49ers trade rumors involving Colin Kaepernick that could be the first falling domino. A report from the Sporting News on Friday, March 11 indicates that the 49ers first plan to trade Colin Kaepernick to clear roster space for a Robert Griffin III signing. This would give new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly a running quarterback (Griffin), plus the team could also come away with several assets from any trade that involves Kaepernick.

These San Francisco 49ers rumors are certainly contingent on several things happening. The first is that the 49ers can convince another franchise to take on the full salary of Colin Kaepernick. For the 2016 NFL season, Kaepernick makes a base salary of $11.9 million. In the following four seasons, he would present a salary cap hit of about $20 million per year for a new team. While his contract is not fully guaranteed, Kaepernick is a very expensive option at quarterback.

A number of NFL rumors already link Colin Kaepernick to teams like the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, so there may not be a lack of suitors in that department. This leads to the other main San Francisco 49ers rumors, as the team could follow a Kaepernick trade by signing Robert Griffin III as a free agent. RG3 was released by the Washington Redskins earlier in the week, as he had an extensive roster bonus and contract guarantees should the team have retained him.

Rather than pay Griffin $16.5 million for the 2016 NFL season, the Redskins ended up having to cut him. There were a number of NFL trade rumors as the franchise explored every option, but the front office simply couldn’t find another franchise that would pay him at that rate. The team has committed to Kirk Cousins for the short-term and has officially moved on from the RG3 era. Cousins was given a franchise tag that will pay him just about $20 million for the 2016 NFL season.

When the Denver Broncos had Peyton Manning retire and Brock Osweiler leave for the Houston Texans, it created a possible spot for Robert Griffin III on the roster. The problem is that Griffin is still considered a “running quarterback” and doesn’t quite fit into the mold that the Broncos coaching staff is looking for this offseason. While Griffin could be better than some of the other options in free agency, the Broncos are likely going to target a pocket passer.

This is where the San Francisco 49ers rumors get even more interesting, as the franchise has the money to spend this offseason. There isn’t a strong argument that Robert Griffin III is better than Colin Kaepernick, especially based on their overall career numbers, but the 49ers are prepared to move in a different direction. It’s still possible that the 49ers are unable to find the right trade partner for Kaepernick and decide to just keep him on the active roster. If a trade is secured, though, the signing of RG3 is expected to follow it very quickly.

The 49ers finished last place in the NFC West with a 5-11 record last year. It was only one game ahead of the worst team in the conference (Dallas Cowboys at 4-12) so the front office is certainly looking to make a splash this offseason. After Colin Kaepernick was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert, it also became very evident that the franchise was going to move in a different direction. The signing of new head coach Chip Kelly spurred many new San Francisco 49ers rumors about the offense and it may lead to several moves taking place over the next few days.

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