The San Francisco 49ers quarterback situation is still up in the air and nobody is going to know what the answer is until sometime right before the start of the 2017 NFL season. Some video came up on CSN Bay Area with Kyle Shanahan discussing quarterbacks and what he has planned for his coaching staff. As you might guess, Colin Kaepernick came up as a question for for Shanahan. Here’s what his response was:
Colin’s had success in this league. He took a team to the Super Bowl so obviously Colin has a lot of ability. He’s not a guy I’ve studied since he was at Nevada, I liked him coming out of college and I’m looking forward to studying him now.
It’s not much, and obviously Shanahan’s keeping his options open by not burying Kaepernick, but maybe he’s considering putting him under center next year?
Obviously, Shanahan (and by extension general manager John Lynch) has his work cut out for him with the quarterback position. Kaepernick’s contract is a mess, and the crop of projects available through the draft haven’t inspired confidence. We won’t know what they may target in the draft until the combine hits, but so far, it’s not pretty.
The answer could be coach-speak, but maybe Colin Kaepernick is a legitimate option. Kyle Shanahan is known for tinkering his offense to fit his players. We’ve seen several different versions of it throughout the years. If Kaepernick is the quarterback we may see something similar to Robert Griffin III’s offense in Washington. While no one was really fooling anyone with the read option last year, or with an over-reliance on the pistol, maybe under Shanahan’s tutelage it could be devastating once again like the 2012 Greg Roman days.
What do you think the offense would look like if Kaepernick stuck around?