Colin Kaepernick: How Badly Does He Want Out Of San Francisco?

Colin Kaepernick may finally have the way out of San Francisco he’s been searching for – but it’s going to come at a price.

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Colin Kaepernick, once the face of the the San Francisco 49ers franchise, has fallen on some hard times over the last couple of seasons. After leading the 49ers to a conference title game as well as a Super Bowl, Kaepernick was on top of the world and was the talk of the NFL. That all changed in 2014 as the drama surrounding the front office’s war with then-head coach Jim Harbaugh took its toll on the team, but seemed to take a bigger hit on Kaepernick.

The 2015 season got even worse as the team itself was hit hard by a rash of retirements – many unexpected – and a large number of free agent defections. And compounding the problem was Kaepernick’s performance, which simply put, was downright dreadful.

Easily his worse season as a pro, Kaepernick recorded a 2-6 record as a starter, throwing for just 1,615 yards on 59 percent passing, tossing six touchdowns, five interceptions, and a less than scintillating QB rating of 78.5.

Kaepernick’s terrible year – or half a year really – culminated in then-head coach Jim Tomsula benching him in favor of Blaine Gabbert. Statistically speaking, Gabbert didn’t exactly set the league on fire and wasn’t that much better than Kaepernick, but he did seem to give the team a shot in the arm and he kept them in some games.

When the season ended, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Kaepernick and the 49ers would be parting ways. The lucrative contract Kaepernick signed with the team in June 2014 was incredibly team friendly and gave the 49ers multiple outs. San Francisco has the option to get out of Kaepernick’s contract by releasing him by April first, otherwise it becomes fully guaranteed.

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As the offseason has progressed and the march toward April first has continued, the 49ers have been engaged in a game of chicken with Kaepernick as well as the teams that have been interested in bringing him in. Essentially, the 49ers are hanging a price tag on Kaepernick that other teams don’t seem willing to pay.

The genuine level of interest in Kapernick was hard to gauge, but of the two believed to be the most interested, the Browns went ahead and signed Robert Griffin III, and the Broncos brought in Mark Sanchez – although, it is believed that Denver still wants to land the beleagured quarterback to replace the retired Peyton Manning and the departed Brock Osweiler.

Talks between Denver and San Francisco have seemingly not gone anywhere in recent days, and with the April first deadline looming, it looked increasingly like the 49ers were going to be on the hook for Kaepernick’s soon to be guaranteed $12 million dollar salary for 2016.

But there has apparently been movement on the Kaepernick to Denver front.

According to Broncos beat writer Mike Klis, Denver is still interested in bringing Kaepernick in, but would require him to take a pay cut to do it.

"“As they sit here today, the Broncos rank 32nd in the 32-team league with less than $2 million in salary cap space. So the Broncos cannot afford Kaepernick at his current 2016 rate of $14.3 million (which is comprised of an $11.9 million salary, a $2 million roster bonus and $400,000 workout bonus). To be clear, a trade for Kaepernick does not happen unless Kaepernick reduces his 2016 money.”"

So the question now becomes – how badly does Kaepernick want out of San Francisco?

He can of course, elect to not rework his deal, stay with the 49ers, and probably sit for the entire season. San Francisco is likely not going to want to pay him the extra couple of million tied to performance and game incentives.

Or, if he wants out badly enough, he can rework his deal and head to Denver to play for the Broncos – a team that very clearly wants him in their uniform.

Nobody can fault him for taking the money and sitting. It’s the contract he worked out, he’s entitled to it. But if this is really about wanting a fresh start and a chance to play for a good team instead of the money, Kaepernick should do whatever it takes to punch his ticket out of San Francisco.

Next: Despite the Drama, Kaepernick Likely Staying

He has a path out of the purgatory he’s existing in with the 49ers. The question is, how badly does he really want out? The ball is in his court and time is quickly running out.