With The First Pick
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Kyle Shanahan to be Patient at QB Position in 2017

By Carl Cockerham

Feb 9, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during a press conference at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during a press conference at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kyle Shanahan has been linked to every free agent QB and so-called first-round prospect. But what it he can get something out of Colin Kaepernick.

In his first head coaching job with San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan has control over the roster. So everyone seems to have their idea of what he’s going to do about the QB position. He’s been linked to Washington Redskins QB Kirk Cousins, whom he originally developed.

Many linked him to Jimmy Garoppolo, whom, he liked coming out of college. There might have even been some rumblings about Tony Romo and Jay Cutler along the way. Then there’s the draft with Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer and Mitch Trubisky in it.

Trubisky seems to be the favorite but he’s actually the worst of the three while none are great. Surely, neither one is worth a Top-10 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Of the free agents, most of the talk is about Cousins but the Redskins have some say in that.

Next year, there’s a great QB draft class so he doesn’t have to be in a hurry to get a franchise QB. And from his interview with KNBR-AM in San Francisco Friday, he isn’t. After all, Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch have signed on for six years.

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Shanahan told, KNBR-AM via CSN Bay Area, “You’re not trying to commit everything to one year,” “Yes, you want to win right away. That’s the goal of everybody. But you don’t want to do that at the expense of hurting your future.

“You don’t want to gamble. You want to be aggressive in everything, but you got to do what’s right. You have to build your team the right way and that’s what I mean by being patient.”

That being the mindset, seeing what Colin Kaepernick has for one season is ideal for both sides. Kaepernick didn’t look that bad coming off of all of his surgeries last offseason. Plus he’s one of a few QBs in the NFL that has taken his team to a Super Bowl.

And for Kaepernick, he gets one year to show the NFL who and what he really is. He’s healthy this offseason so he’ll have a chance to work on his game and build his body back up. Collecting that $16.5 million isn’t a bad idea if the Shanahan decides to keep him.

Spending a year to see what Kaepernick has left is a solid display of patience.