On Thursday, San Francisco 49ers beat writer Grant Cohn of the Press Democrat joined The Towny & Zakariah Show on 95.7 The Game to discuss the team.
Cohn was asked if quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done enough to showcase himself for other teams. Following this season, he has the option to void the remainder of his contract and make himself a free agent at the start of the new league year in March. It's a move that Kaepernick has been expected to make.
Cohn had a bit of a different take on the Kaepernick situation. "I would describe his play in the last few games as solid," Cohn said of Kaepernick. "Not worse. Not better. And I don't know if other teams would be interested in him. I don't know if other teams want a 'solid' quarterback who's 29 [years old] who is doing all these protests. We heard that people in the league are really turned off by that.
"What I'm thinking is if the Niners fire Trent Baalke, there's a chance Kaepernick could come back because Kaepernick's issue was with Baalke. It's very personal between those two. Remember, Baalke said they had a good talk and then we asked Kaepernick is that was true. He said, 'We had a talk.' It's very personal between them so if Baalke goes, that changes the situation. All of a sudden, Kaepernick might be their best option, ironically enough, for one more year as sort of the bridge quarterback that Alex Smith used to be."
Cohn was also asked, should Baalke be fired, how many years away the 49ers are from being competitive. "This may be an unpopular decision, but I think if they stick with Kelly, they will never ever get there," Cohn answered. "They will be infinity years away because I think his gimmick offense has been proven that it will not succeed going forward in the NFL. It had success early on. The league adjusted. Kelly won't readjust. He has been figured out. I think he has to go. Every year that they keep him is a wasted year. That's just how I feel."
You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game.
