San Francisco 49ers

Colin Kaepernick's time with the 49ers could be nearing an end

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:26 p.m. ET

Dieter Kurtenbach

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is yet to throw a pass from scrimmage in training camp or the preseason, as he rehabs from a shoulder injury he sustained last season.

The 49ers plan on the competition for the starting quarterback job between him and Blaine Gabbert to start this week, but by the time it starts — if it starts — Kaepernick will be drastically behind not just Gabbert, but also free-agent pickup Christian Ponder and rookie Jeff Driskel.

Kaepernick, as the highest-paid player on the 49ers roster and with a new offensive system under new head coach Chip Kelly, will get a fair shot at winning the job, but it’s hard to see him overtaking Gabbert as the starting quarterback.

The former Jaguars quarterback, who replaced Kaepernick after a horrid start to the 2015 season, played well both in 2015 and to start the preseason. He’d hardly be the worst starting quarterback in the league, but for a team in transition, he’s more than suitable.

Can Kaepernick, with one week of full-fledged practice and one preseason game, establish himself as the 49ers’ QB1? That would truly take a spectacular week.

It’s more likely that Kaepernick starts the season as Gabbert’s backup quarterback. We already know Kap's not the 49ers quarterback of the future — the team made that clear over the last 10 months — and he’s definitely not the team's hold-‘em-over quarterback of the present.

Which begs the question — why should the 49ers bother keeping him around?

The answer is money — his salary of $11.9 million for 2016 is already guaranteed, and they might as well get something for that cash.

But Kaepernick might not even be the best option for the 49ers at backup quarterback — rookie Jeff Driskel has played well in the preseason and seems a worthwhile backup project for the team, and Christian Ponder, whom the 49ers brought in as a camp arm last week, was tremendous in the Niners’ preseason game Saturday against the Broncos, despite having only a few days with the playbook.

The 49ers are only going to keep three quarterbacks — it’d be imprudent to keep four on the 53-man roster. Why would the 49ers push either player out for Kaepernick? Ponder might be easy to cut — he was easy to sign — but his performance Saturday makes that option unpalatable. Driskel, a sixth-round pick, has played well enough that he might not make it to the team’s practice squad. Is it worth risking him to keep Kaepernick?

Why not instead get rid of the quarterback who was replaced as the starter last season and hasn’t done a thing this year?

Compared to the last action we saw from Kaepernick — he was 25 percent worse than a replacement player last season, per FootballOutsiders — paying him to free up a roster spot — one that could be filled by an average player or a worthwhile project — might be worth it; the 49ers have the lowest team salary in the league by a $5 million margin.

A trade is a possibility, sure — though it’s unforeseeable who would trade for an expensive quarterback who is coming off a significant shoulder injury and a terrible season?

What the 49ers opt to do will be determined by Kaepernick in the next week to 10 days. The first major cut date is Aug. 30. Will Kaepernick still be on the Niners roster then?