Top Four Trade Destinations For Colin Kaepernick
by Russell Preston, KHTK Sacramento
It took nine weeks of horrible offense led by Colin Kaepernick, but Blaine Gabbert is the main man in San Francisco. He solidified himself the best he could with a win over the Atlanta in week 9, moving the offense in a way San Francisco 49er fans haven't seen in a long time.
After a bye week and lots of time to prepare for the rivaled Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, head coach Jim Tomsula has already penciled in Gabbert as the man under center. Assuming Gabbert doesn't throw five interceptions in the first half, he should be starting the remaining seven games of the regular season.
Now that the 49ers sound like they are practically done with the Kaepernick experiment, what is going to happen to him? Will he stick around and try to take over the starting job once again? Will he be cut this Spring before his guaranteed money kicks in? Or, will he simply be traded after the season?
If the 49ers decide to go with the latter and try to get something out of Kaepernick, it wouldn't be much - a mid-to-late round pick or two. Still, the question remains: where would he go?
Here are four realistic trade partners with the 49ers where Kaepernick would be wanted the most:
4. Michigan University (Just kidding.)
4. Philadelphia Eagles
Look, we know they have too many quarterbacks with Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow waiting by a phone somehwere, but Chip Kelly loves reinventing the wheel. Kaepernick was, and still is, a prototypical quarterback. He has a strong arm - perhaps sometimes too strong - he can run and scramble with the best of them. The thing he doesn't have is consistent coaching to his abilities. Jim Harbaugh knew how to help Kaepernick, maybe Chip Kelly and his unique offense can fix whatever is wrong with him.
3. New York Jets
Geno Smith is not a future star in the NFL. His own teammates aren't even too kind to him (google "geno jaw" and tell me he's loved over there), and the Jets are another team wanting a scrambling quarterback with a wide selection of skills. Ryan Fitzpatrick is not an elite quarterback and he is prone to injury often. They may want to weigh in on Kaepernick's potential.
2. Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning just isn't playing like Peyton Manning anymore. It's an odd sight to see your Hall of Fame quarterback be benched mid-game whether he was hurt or not. Head coach Gary Kubiak plays a style of offense that may be compatible with Kaepernick - he does improve as a quarterback when he is running play action and bootlegs.
1. Buffalo Bills
Rex Ryan and Greg Roman would love to have Kaepernick to mold into their typical explosive quarterback. They are doing a pretty good job with Tyrod Taylor, but Kaepernick has a much higher ceiling. He also has more experience on a winning team as the starter and he was running Roman's offense for most of his career in San Francisco. This is the obvious choice for a trade if you're San Francisco.
