placeholder image

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports


Report: Colin Kaepernick will opt out of his contract

Feb 3, 2017 at 9:08 AM--


Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
"San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick will be opting out of his contract, according to a source, becoming a free agent," reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The news shouldn't be much of a surprise to 49ers fans, who have expected Kaepernick to opt out of his contract since the quarterback reworked his deal in October. Kaepernick will have an opportunity to officially opt out during the period of March 2-7 leading up to free agency, per Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group.

The move will leave the San Francisco 49ers without a quarterback signed for the 2017 season. Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, and even Thad Lewis, are all scheduled to become free agents as well.

Kaepernick started the 2016 season as the 49ers' backup quarterback. Recovery from three offseason surgeries and then a shoulder injury during training camp pushed him behind Gabbert in a quarterback competition to determine a starter. However, Kaepernick returned as the starter during Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, would go on to win just one game, and finish with the second-worst Pro Football Focus grade of his career and rank 27th among all quarterbacks.

Despite the 49ers' poor play this season, Kaepernick's name dominated headlines, but not for his play on the field. The San Francisco quarterback started a protest of the traditional pregame national anthem by refusing to stand. The protest started during the preseason but was not noticed until the third exhibition game – a home matchup with the Green Bay Packers.

The controversy surrounding Kaepernick is expected to hurt his value in free agency with other NFL teams reportedly hesitant about the idea of bringing in the quarterback. That might leave the door open to the 49ers bringing him back for substantially less than the $14.5 million that he was going to be due in 2017.

Related News





LISTEN

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News


placeholder image

49ers agree to multi-year contract extensions with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch

By David Bonilla
Sep 22

The San Francisco 49ers plan to keep the band together for a long time. The team announced that it has agreed to multi-year contract extensions with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Details of the contracts are currently unknown. Before the new deals, Shanahan had been signed through the 2025 season, while Lynch was locked up through the 2024 season. They will now remain with the team longer than that. The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown. The duo joined the 49ers in February of 2017 and have since led the organization to the postseason three times, claimed two NFC West division titles (2019 & 2022), reached three NFC Championship games (2019 & 2021-22) and a trip to Super Bowl


placeholder image

Kyle Shanahan reveals 49ers contract extensions were finalized before the season

By David Bonilla
Sep 27

Last week, the San Francisco 49ers announced they had signed head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to multi-year contract extensions, keeping the team's brain trust together for the foreseeable future. However, Shanahan revealed that the deals had been finalized for a while. "We did it before the Pittsburgh game (Week 1), so I had already celebrated with my family and stuff like that, which is huge," Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. "I feel very grateful just being a coach anywhere for a long time. I know what that means, and I'm extremely grateful for that, to have that opportunity, and mainly for my family to be somewhere for so long, which is cool." The extensions had nothing to do with the 49ers' 3-0 start to the 2023 season. That's


placeholder image

John Lynch on 49ers contract extension: "I've got a ton of gratitude for the York family"

By David Bonilla
Sep 29

It is believed that general manager John Lynch's contract extension keeps him with the San Francisco 49ers through the 2027 season. The deal was actually done ahead of the start of the season but wasn't announced until the day after the team's Week 3 win over the New York Giants. Lynch was in Texas, where he and his family were spending time with his daughter, a student at TCU. That's when people started congratulating the 49ers general manager on his extension. That surprised him since the actual signing took place weeks earlier. Still, Lynch is grateful for the expression of confidence by 49ers management. "I think [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], yesterday, I heard him use the term 'grateful,'" Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR's "Murph and Mac"


placeholder image

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan could break major franchise record with new contract

By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 29

In the midst of the 2023 season, the San Francisco 49ers took some attention away from their 3-0 start and rewarded head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch with multi-year extensions, tying them to the franchise for the foreseeable future. With the extension, Shanahan is signed with the 49ers through at least the 2027 season, putting him in line to potentially break a major franchise record. Currently, legendary coach Bill Walsh holds the franchise record for longest-tenured coach at 10 years, but Shanahan could break that, should he remain with the 49ers throughout the remainder of his newly-signed extension. Does that hold any sentiment for the current head


Featured

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone