Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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."
RELATED Report: Colin Kaepernick will opt out of his contract
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.
Poll
- How hot a commodity will Colin Kaepernick be in free agency?
Will sit and wait for a while
Moderately pursued
No one will show interest
Greatly pursued
- 1,182 votes
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his first mock draft and has quarterbacks going back-to-back with the first two overall picks, sending Trevor Lawrence to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Zach Wilson to the New York Jets.
Jeremiah has two other quarterbacks coming off the board before the San Francisco 49ers select at No. 12. They are Trey Lance to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 4 and Justin Fields to the Carolina Panthers at No. 8.
So, where does that leave the 49ers? Selecting a tight end, of course. No controversy there, right?
With all of the team's roster needs and nearly 40 players scheduled to become free agents, tight end isn't
The San Francisco 49ers lost VP of player personnel Martin Mayhew, who left to become the general manager in Washington. The 49ers' general manager, John Lynch, could be looking to Washington to find some additional help within his own front office and to replace Mayhew, who was considered one of his top lieutenants.
Chris Russell of Sports Illustrated told 106.7 The Fan in the Washington D.C. area that the 49ers are among the teams expressing interest in Washington Football Team VP of player personnel Kyle Smith (h/t to Patrick Tulini), who has been with the organization for 10 years and oversaw the team's most recent drafts.
"I've heard Washington would not stand in their way," Russell told 106.7 The Fan
