Report: Colin Kaepernick Will Opt Out His Contract With 49ers

Sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN that QB Colin Kaepernick will be opting out of his contract with the 49ers.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that this was the expectation once Kaepernick agreed to a restructured deal with the 49ers last year but this serves as confirmation of his plans.

The parties agreed to the restructured contract back in October right before the 49ers turned to him as their starting quarterback and benched Blaine Gabbert. In return for giving Kaepernick the ability to opt out of his contract, he agreed to void the final four years of his current deal.

If Kaepernick were to not opt out of his contract, the contract terms for 2017 would remain the same and include a $14.5 million salary. However, there would be no guaranteed money.

San Francisco is, however, barred from using their franchise tag on him, but there’s no way they were going to spend that kind of money on him anyways.

It is worth mentioning that Kaepernick can’t officially opt out of his contract until March 2.

There has been some speculation that Kaepernick could end up with the Jets (NFLTR), given that they hired John Morton as their new offensive coordinator. Morton was actually the 49ers’ WRs coach when Kaepernick was playing his best football, so there’s an obvious connection between the two.

Kaepernick, 29, is a former second-round pick of the 49ers back in 2010. He was in the third year of his seven-year, $126.97 million contract that included $61 million guaranteed when reached an agreement with the 49ers on a restructured deal.

Kaepernick’s new contract will give him the ability to void his deal in the coming months and test the open market.

In 2016, Kaepernick has completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns and four interceptions, while adding 468 yards rushing. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 27 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Kaepernick and where he’ll be playing in 2017 as the news is available.