Baalke: 'Absolutely' Expects Kaepernick To Stay With 49ers
In a press conference Wednesday, San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke somewhat cleared the air on the situation surrounding quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The 49ers have until April 1 to make a decision on if they want to keep Kaepernick on the roster or not. Kaepernick will have his base salary of $11.9 million kick in on that day, forcing the 49ers to pay up for their once glorified QB.
Baalke stated he "absolutely" expects Kaepernick to remain on the 49ers roster for the 2016 season, but he did not confirm whether he would start. "The main focus is [Kaepernick] getting healthy," Baalke said.
Kaepernick missed the final eight games last season due to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder as well as his thumb. He finished with a 2-6 record, 1,615 yards, six passing touchdowns (as well as one rushing touchdown) and five interceptions.
Despite his clear message during the press conference, KNBR 680's Murph and Mac show interviewed Baalke afterwards to confirm the fact that Kaepernick is staying in San Francisco. He wasn't too convincing this time.
"Is there any absolute in this business?" Baalke said. "He's certainly doing a good job with his rehab. Talking to the doctors, they're excited about where he's at. He's still got some work to do."
So maybe this is not all set in stone. Obviously, anything can happen in the next few weeks - it would be wise to take Baalke's words with a grain of salt until April 1 comes along.