49ers Want Chip Kelly To Give QB Colin Kaepernick A Chance

Jason Cole of B/R reports that 49ers’ management would like to see QB Colin Kaepernick get another shot at being the team’s long-term solution at quarterback.

According to Cole, the 49ers’ front office still believes and Kaepernick and views his contract as a “reasonable” salary for a starting quarterback in the NFL.

As of now, the 49ers are expected to give new HC Chip Kelly the assignment of making it work with Kaepernick.

However, should Kelly believe that Kaepernick is not the answer at quarterback, they’ll need to make a decision soon, seeing as his 2016 salary becomes fully guaranteed on April 1.

Kelly is at the Senior Bowl this week, and Cole mentions that North Dakota State QB Carson Wentz could be someone they consider in round one.

Kaepernick, 27, is in the second year of his seven-year, $126.97 million contract that included $61 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $12.4 million for the 2015 season.

While those numbers are impressive on their own, the contract is essentially a pay-as-you-go agreement that includes ways for San Francisco to walk away with limited repercussions, as long as Kaepernick is healthy.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Kaepernick would free up $8,493,493 in available cap space and create $7,397,260 in dead money.

In eight games this season, Kaepernick threw for 1,615 yards while completing 59.3 percent of his passes to go along with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He also added 228 yards rushing and a touchdown.

We’ll have more regarding Kaepernick’s future with the 49ers as the news is available.