Colin Kaepernick officially opts out of contract with 49ers

Kaepernick will hit the open market when free agency begins Thursday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have acknowledged Kaepernick, 29, would opt out of his contract this week at the NFL combine. Lynch acknowledged Thursday the 49ers "need players," but it sounds as though they may not be shopping for many guards, centers or tackles this offseason. Asked about an area of strength on a team that went 2-14 last year, Lynch cited the offensive line, which allowed the third-most sacks in the NFL (47). [...] you turn on the film and there's a lot of exciting things to see with an offensive line. The 49ers did rank 10th in the league and yards per rushing attempt (4.4) and they could return the same unit in 2017. The front five is rounded out by Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, left guard Zane Beadles and center Daniel Kilgore, who has missed 23 games due to injury since 2014. Last year, the 49ers set an NFL record by allowing 100-yard rushers in seven straight games and surrendered the sixth-most rushing yards (2,654) since 1990. Armstead missed the final eight games with a shoulder injury he sustained in training camp.