Remember when Colin Kaepernick beat the Green Bay Packers in back-to-back seasons in the playoffs? Remember when he came from behind on the road in Atlanta to send the 49ers to the Super Bowl? And remember when he had two road wins to send the 49ers to the 2013 NFC Championship game? Yeah, me too. BECAUSE IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO. Three and two years ago, if you’re scoring at home.
Then remember last year when the 49ers went 8-8 amid team turmoil and enough injuries to field two football teams? Yeah, me too. Did Kaepernick start to regress at that point? Maybe, but personally I think it was more of a stagnation than a regression. Defenses figured him out. Some of the deficiencies he could hide with his legs became more prevalent. Did the 49ers bring in any sort of coaching or personnel to help with that? No. Instead, they were unrealistic as to who their quarterback was and instead of trying to help him succeed, they turned around and just let him fail. I’m not saying this was any sort of conspiracy. But it was mishandled so poorly that the whole Jim Harbaugh debacle doesn’t look all that bad.
Well San Francisco 49ers, you’ve done it now. 26 years. 26 years I have bled gold, been faithful, lived and died by this team. Win or lose – it didn’t matter, because I’m a San Francisco 49ers fan, and I have been proud to be in good times and bad. But now, you have tested my patience.
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Colin Kaepernick, not just for what he has done on the field, but for what he does off. That being said, I am a 49ers fan first and foremost, and I understand that this is a business. But there is a way to handle your business, and the 49ers have done a poor job of that.
Kap is not blameless on the field. Even though San Francisco’s offensive line has been awful and the play-calling and coaching has been more than suspect, Colin Kaepernick has made plenty of mistakes. But honestly, I’m not sure he ever had a chance. Once Harbaugh was gone, it was probably over for Kap as a Niner.
So now Kaepernick goes on Injured Reserve. Per Cam Inman, Kap will have surgery on a torn labrum in his non-throwing (left) shoulder on Tuesday, ending his season and most likely his time as a 49er. Also, per Inman, recovery time is 4-6 months. Per Matt Maiocco:
The possible recovery time of four-to-six months is likely to come into play because Kaepernick’s scheduled $11.9 million salary is fully guaranteed for injury. The salary also becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the 49ers’ roster on April 1.
Chances are, the 49ers will cut or trade Kap before April 1, and he may just end up having a really good career somewhere else. Somewhere with a coaching staff that knows how to coach him and that wants to coach him. In the end, Colin Kaepernick will be fine, but it doesn’t make all of this ok.
The NFL is a business. Every man for himself; every team for itself. But this could have been done better. Shame on you 49ers. Shame on you.