According to Adam Caplan and Adam Schefter of ESPN, the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Colin Kaepernick have agreed to a new restructured deal that alleviates some of the 2017 guarantees within the quarterback's old contract. It is a deal that makes things easier on the 49ers should Kaepernick suffer an injury and eliminates the three years on the tail end of the old contract. Kaepernick signed the contract today.
The new contract, which Caplan and Schefter report as a new two-year deal, also reportedly allows Kaepernick to void 2017, making him a free agent following this season and at the start of the new league year in March. On Monday, Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY reported that the new contract is expected to add $1 million in playtime incentives this season and that Kaepernick's $125,000 per game roster bonus is expected to convert to guaranteed salary.
On Tuesday, 49ers head coach Chip Kelly named Kaepernick as the team's starter at quarterback for Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills in New York. "Excited about it," Kaepernick said following the announcement. "Ready to go. Hope I can bring more to this team and try to get us a win this Sunday."
And now Colin Kaepernick has signed his restructured deal. He will have option to void deal after this season. https://t.co/ItAbk6XRT1
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2016
If Colin Kaepernick doesn't void deal after this season, his contract terms for 2017 are same $14.5 million salary, but no guaranteed money.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2016
Kaepernick said he is 100-percent and feels ready to go physically. "My biggest thing is trying to focus on strength and making sure I'm physically ready to play," he said. "Whether that means my weight's higher or lower, I don't think that's a huge deal."
In June of 2014, Kaepernick and the 49ers agreed to a six-year, $114 million extension that would have kept the quarterback under contract with the team through the 2020 season. However, under the old contract, a serious injury would have triggered a $14.5 million guarantee of his 2017 salary. That's a lot of money to risk on a player that might not be your quarterback of the future.
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Kelly has insisted that the quarterback's contract has had nothing to do with his lack of playing time. "I played him in the first game," Kelly answered. "So, that kind of answers that question." He certainly did. For a grand total of three snaps. None were passes and all were at the end of the game with the outcome already decided.
While he may not have hit everyone's idea of his ideal weight, his arm strength is reportedly back to normal. "He's just zipping the ball," one source said.
On Monday, Kelly did discuss the speculation that Kaepernick has not played due to his weight. "There's no weight limit that he has to get to whether he plays or doesn't play," Kelly said on KNBR 680. "But the point was is where is he in his rehabilitation? And I answered that question and then people ran with it and said, 'Well, if he doesn't weight 225, he's not going to play.' This isn't pop warner. There is no weight limit in terms of him playing."
Kaepernick has insisted that he is ready to play. "I'm always ready to step on that field and looking forward to that opportunity," he said following the 49ers' loss to the Seattle Seahawks last month.
Over his career, Kaepernick has passed for 10,030 yards, 56 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions. He was drafted by the 49ers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft and took over at quarterback during the 2012 season following an injury to then-starter Alex Smith.
Meanwhile, Gabbert's 2016 season was nothing short of disastrous. Entering Thursday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, he was ranked as the 33rd best quarterback in the NFL ... out of 34 graded quarterbacks. Against the Cardinals, Gabbert had a passer rating of 56.1, which is the second time this season that it has dipped below 60. Against the blitz, his passer rating fell to a pitiful 12.0, which includes his two interceptions of the night.
