The San Francisco 49ers got quarterback Colin Kaepernick back on the field for some practice this week, and he met with the media following practice. Kap talked about being excited to be with the 49ers and looking forward to competition. While we might take that as cliched, I have to admit, Kaepernick looked relaxed, and not stressed by any of the off-field stuff. He laughed, made jokes, and just generally seemed to be in a good place. After the 49ers PR person said it was the end of the session, Kaepernick said, this was a unique situation, so go ahead and ask any more questions you have so we can focus on football moving forward. He ended up going 18 minutes with the media.
He would not go into details about the trade request, the discussions with the Denver Broncos, or anything else connected to that. Someone did ask him if he had rescinded his trade request (you’re welcome BigMar!). He simply said he has not thought about the trade request in a long while, and was preparing for the coming season. He was asked about the trade request from numerous angles, but repeatedly said he was not going to get into specifics, and wanted to focus on football moving forward. He repeatedly stated that he is a 49er, he is excited about working with Chip Kelly and the coaching staff, and is excited about competing for the starting quarterback job.
One interesting note is that he said he has not spoken with Trent Baalke since the start of the offseason workout program. I wouldn’t expect much interaction between players and the GM, but it is certainly something. Matt Barrows made a good point about Kap’s comments. Kaepernick talked about his great rapport with Chip Kelly and the staff, while having no interactions with Trent Baalke. Given the trade discussion and everything else going on, it’s safe to say any issues would potentially be with Baalke. But it seems like he is moving past everything and just focusing on football.
Kaepernick’s next media session will probably not be until sometime in training camp. The veterans will part ways after today, returning in late July. At that point, I imagine both Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert will have plenty of media availability.