San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick spoke to the media following the team's Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and shared some of his thoughts regarding head coach Chip Kelly, the news that he would likely be fired, and the team as a whole.
Kaepernick was asked what his thoughts are regarding the likelihood that general manager Trent Baalke, who has confirmed that he has been fired, and Kelly would not return in 2017. "That's above me," Kaepernick said. "That's not something that I have a decision or input on.
"I will say that I appreciate Chip and what he's done as far as coming to work every day and making sure this tear stays focused and being resilient (during) not very good circumstances as far as how our team was playing, win-loss record-wise. So I do appreciate the fact that he came in every day, worked his tail off to make sure that this team was prepared."
"I have a great appreciation for this organization," Kaepernick continued. "Jed [York] and Paraag [Marathe], have a good relationship with them. A lot of things to think about moving forward and we'll see where this goes."
"My relationship this year was much improved from years past with Jed, Paraag," Kaepernick continued. "I think we have a great relationship now and I was excited about that. I was excited about this organization as a whole, teammates playing hard regardless of the circumstances, and coming to work every day and preparing to win regardless of what position we were put in."
Kaepernick has likely played his last game with the 49ers, the team that drafted him. While Kaepernick said that he has not yet had a chance to decide on his options, it is widely believed that he will void the remainder of his contract and become a free agent.