For five years now, Colin Kaepernick has been showing his unique style of playing quarterback in the NFL and he’s brought much success to the San Francisco 49ers. Now, he’s got a new head coach and has been benched in the middle of the season in favor of back-up Blaine Gabbert. It appears as if NFL defenses have figured out his style and, unless he seriously alters his game, his time is done in San Francisco as rumors state.
As reported by ESPN , Kaepernick has indeed been benched by the 49ers, who are sitting in the cellar of the NFC West with a record of 2-6. Kaepernick has just six touchdown passes to go along with five interceptions and one fumble while only passing for 1,615 yards.
The fifth-year quarterback is not going to complain even though he’s not happy with some of the characterizations made by 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula and offensive coordinator Geep Chryst. Tomsula recently said that his quarterback needed to “step back and breathe.”
Kaepernick isn’t exactly sure what that even means.
“I’m not out of breath, so I don’t understand that reference.
“I don’t believe in pressure. Pressure is not being prepared for what you want to do. To me, I’ve played full seasons and had success. Mentally, I’ve been through it before. I’m not incapable of going through this.”
The San Francisco 49ers are starting Blaine Gabbert against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend as their tumultuous season continues. Stars such as Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, and Aldon Smith sit out due to injuries and other issues.
It’s not known if Gabbert is the star quarterback of the future for the 49ers, but it is his time this season in replacing Colin Kaepernick. Some have begun to wonder if the rumors are true and that Kapernick’s time in San Francisco is done.
CBS Sports states Colin Kaepernick is “virtually certain” not to return to San Francisco for the 2016 season. Trust between the player and the team has whittled away to virtually nothing and it doesn’t appear as if it’s something that can be rebuilt.
While some believe he has played his last down for the 49ers, others aren’t so sure.
NFL.com reported on Sunday morning that there is still a good chance Colin Kaepernick is the franchise quarterback in San Francisco. A theory going around is that he’s been benched simply to give him a breather and to see if Blaine Gabbert can hurt the walking wounded of the Atlanta Falcons.
With tougher games against the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks coming up, word has it that Colin Kaepernick may step back into the starting role as the hero, of sorts. Maybe the time off and resting a game or two will allow him to get out of his current slump and back to his flashy, productive ways.
The falling out between ex-49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and owner Jed York was one thing that started the implosion of the team. Then, there was the situation with defensive star Aldon Smith, and now the rift with starting quarterback Kaepernick.
If San Francisco does look to trade away Kaepernick in 2016, they’ll have to deal with only a $7 million salary cap hit. Trading him before last Tuesday’s trade deadline would have been difficult to pull off since there is a lot to his $20 million cap hit for 2015.
Colin Kaepernick’s career in the NFL isn’t done, but chances are his time with the San Francisco 49ers will be over by the end of 2015. A team will likely take a chance on him, but he’ll also have to do something to shake his slump and prove that he wasn’t just a flash in the pan until defenses figured out his style.
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