Colin Kaepernick says he wants to play football next year

There have been some whispers around the media that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick might not even be playing football next year. Not just with the 49ers, but on any NFL team. After all, the view from some within the media and perhaps around the league, is that Kaepernick's focus is not on football. After all, he has been involved in a heavily publicized protest of the national anthem all season long. He recently took the GRE exam, a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for most graduate schools in the United States. The perception by some is that his focus is off the field or even beyond his playing days.

Our friend Chris Biderman, a beat writer over at Niners Wire, even made an "off the wall prediction" during a Facebook Live event with us. "This is purely speculative," said Biderman. "I'm not sourcing this or anything. I don't have anyone telling me anything like this. I am not certain Colin Kaepernick is going to want to play football after this season. You look at the upcoming free agent class and what Colin Kaepernick is going to be worth on the open market...I don't know that he's going to want to play football anymore. He's taking the GRE. He's thinking about going back to grad school. So I think that's something to keep in mind when we talk about the future of Colin Kaepernick."

Today, while talking to reporters following practice, Kaepernick was asked if he wants to play in the NFL next year. "Yes," he responded while laughing.

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During our chat with Biderman, one fan pointed out that no team would want Kaepernick because of the distraction that he brings with him. There is a possibility that even if he wants to play football in 2017, Kaepernick may not be given the chance and effectively be forced out.

"That is a key point because I am not sure there are many executives that disagree with you," Biderman responded. "I think if you look throughout the league, there are going to be a lot of people that question whether or not it's worth bringing in Kaepernick even if he's just a backup."

As far as his health, Kaepernick said that he feels good. "Feeling good," he said. "To me, I feel like I've gotten more and more back to myself as weeks have gone and gotten more comfortable in this offense. So, that's something that's exciting for me."

"It has been a long time since I've felt this good," Kaepernick later continued. "I just felt fluid on the field. For me, that's something I want to be able to continue to build on and especially moving forward making sure that I'm doing everything to keep myself here and being able to improve that."

Kaepernick led a fourth quarter comeback against the Rams in Los Angeles on Saturday. After not doing much of anything for most of the game and trailing by 14, the 49ers came storming back for the 22-21 road victory. Kaepernick finished the game 28 of 38 passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He had a passer rating of 99.2, his second-highest of the season.