Why Colin Kaepernick Should Not Renegotiate A Dime With the 49ers

Colin Kaepernick underwent shoulder surgery two weeks ago. While the 49ers have been frisky in their past two games, they’re 4-8 and virtually eliminated from playoff contention. As with Kaepernick, their focus is more on next year, which is why the time was ripe for this nugget on an early NFL Sunday:

There are several possibilities that could happen from here. The 49ers could bring Kaepernick back on the same deal, pay him that guarantee, and owe him an additional $2.4 million in roster and workout bonuses. If they don’t want to pay him that, and he refuses to renegotiate, the 49ers would then need to trade or release their quarterback by that deadline.

The 49ers would be less likely to find a trade partner if other teams reckon they can just sign the quarterback without parting with a draft pick. This leak could be an ulterior motive for leverage with the dozen or so quarterback-needy teams in the league. (Or maybe they actually do want Kaepernick back.)

Kaepernick’s back-story with the 49ers has been well documented. He almost won a Super Bowl and almost reached another while it looked like he’d be the quarterback version of Gronk, an unstoppable force who reinvented the position. The organization crumbled around him, Jim Harbaugh was jettisoned, about a dozen players retired or were arrested, he spent 1.5 seasons looking shellshocked, and then there was shoulder surgery.

Nevertheless, Kaepernick’s only 28. With the right franchise, the right coach, and the right teammates, you have to believe his career is salvageable. That place isn’t San Francisco, and most observers have realized that by now. If they’re going to pay the man his money, then he has no choice but to give it another go. If not, he should go somewhere like Philadelphia (for myriad reasons) or Houston (with a stout defense and the great-but-underexposed DeAndre Hopkins), and be more likely to succeed.

The 49ers have a toxic culture. If given a choice, why would Kaepernick ever want to remain engulfed by it?