On Friday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will indeed opt out of the remainder of his contract, as he was expected to do, and become a free agent in March. Kaepernick will have to wait to do so until the opt-out period of March 2-7, per Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group.
49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith learned of the development from the "Murph & Mac" show on KNBR during an interview on Friday morning. Smith was asked if he was surprised by the news, which he was learning about while live on the air. "No, I would say," Smith said. "Probably not. I mean, he played pretty well, but -- I mean, I don't know. I think sometimes when things don't go the way you want them to. I don't know what he's thinking. I have no clue but I wouldn't say it's too surprising."
Smith was doing his best to answer the on-air questions without putting down his teammate. "Sometimes people look for a fresh start," Smith said. "And that's what he could potentially be looking for."
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During the interview, Smith was read a quote by 49ers coach-to-be Kyle Shanahan, who is currently the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and preparing his team to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday. "There are so many ways to be successful, but for the most part you want a guy who's a pure thrower," Shanahan said via ESPN. "There aren't very many of them on the planet, but ideally you look for a guy who's a pure thrower and who's fearless."
Does Smith agree with the statement and is that what he looks for in a quarterback? "I think that's pretty accurate," answered Smith. "Someone that's going to trust what they see and let it rip and that's what he's had in the past and that's why he's been very successful with those guys."
You can listen to the entire interview on KNBR.
Kaepernick opting out of his contract does not completely eliminate the chance of a return to San Francisco. According to numerous reports, the quarterback's controversial national anthem protest has weakened his value in the eyes of numerous NFL teams. That may open up the possibility of a quarterback-needy team, like the 49ers, taking a chance on Kaepernick in the short-term.
Does Kaepernick have the qualities that Shanahan mentioned? Would he fit within Shanahan's system? That will be up to Shanahan and new general manager John Lynch.