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San Francisco 49ers to Start Colin Kaepernick Sunday

By Carl Cockerham

Sep 1, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws a pass as San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Tourek Williams (58) pressures during the first half of the game at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws a pass as San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Tourek Williams (58) pressures during the first half of the game at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s been a long time coming but Colin Kaepernick is back!

The San Francisco 49ers have finally made the long overdue announcement that Colin Kaepernick is the starting quarterback. As simple as some things may seem, they never are. That is the rule that applies to the situation the 49ers and Kaepernick.

He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, proving what he’s capable of. He comes from an offense in college that’s similar to the one head coach Chip Kelly runs now. As a matter of fact, Kaepernick was the reason why Kelly was hired.

Meanwhile, Blaine Gabbert, the team’s most recent starter, has been labeled a bust already. There are a lot of 3rd-string quarterbacks that are better than Gabbert. The 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams to open the season in spite of Gabbert and they lost 4-straight since.

The former 1st-round pick threw four TDs and six INTs with an average quarterback rating of 65.1 in that stretch. So it seems pretty simple for the 49ers to make this move much earlier. But there are a few factors in this situation that complicate things.

Kaepernick started the complications, wanting to be traded not long after Kelly was hired. The business part also creeps in as he has injury guarantees in contract that strap the 49ers’ salary cap. We also can’t forget that he’s coming off three surgeries.

And there were multiple reports that Kaepernick didn’t look like the team’s best quarterback in practice. But if you saw the 49ers in Week 4 of the preseason, he certainly looked like it then. Either way, he’s back now after Gabbert proved Kaepernick is the team’s best option.

He now has a tough debut against the Buffalo Bills and head coach Rex Ryan. Ryan is going to come after Kaepernick so we will see where he is right away. And I guess the 49ers will find out soon if they need to draft a quarterback in 2017.