The San Francisco 49ers may have a new head coach in Chip Kelly, but they’re not looking to shake up the quarterback position too much in the 2016 season, it seems.
General manager Trent Baalke spoke about it on Wednesday and stated that Colin Kaepernick will be on the team’s roster on April 1, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Kap made $10.4 million last season, and he’s due to make $11.9 million (fully guaranteed) in 2016. He’ll need to play a lot better than he did last year if he wants to win over Kelly, as he completed only 59 percent of his passes and had a 6:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The 49ers quarterback was benched after a poor performance against the Rams in Week 8, and Blaine Gabbert operated under center from then on as Kaepernick was later placed on injured reserve just a few weeks later.
How Kaepernick fits in Kelly’s scheme remains to be seen. His mobility and elusiveness make him a solid fit, but he’ll need to work on his accuracy and ball placement if he wants to be the team’s signal caller for the entirety of the season.
Nevermind the Jets or other teams that were rumored to be potential fits for him. Kap will be back with the 49ers in 2016.
