No deal in Denver yet, so Kaepernick heads to Bay Area for workouts
As teams that changed head coaches this offseason, the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers are allowed to begin their voluntary offseason workout programs on Monday, two weeks ahead of teams that stood pat. The other four teams that switched coaches – the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans – will follow suit in the coming days.
And since he’s still a member of the 49ers – and has a hefty workout bonus to gain – Colin Kaepernick is among those in the Bay Area.
The quarterback is in limbo at the moment; San Francisco and the Denver Broncos have discussed a deal that would send him to the current Super Bowl champions and reportedly have the parameters of a swap in place, but it is contingent on Kaepernick agreeing to a restructured contract.
Though Kaepernick has met at least twice with Broncos general manager John Elway, as of Saturday night reports were they were far apart on a new contract for the 28-year old, who led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.
So Kaepernick left Colorado, where he has been rehabbing after multiple surgeries, and headed to Santa Clara (one fan even snapped a pic of Kaepernick on a plane bound for the Bay), and it makes total sense that he would: if he is present for 90 percent of the Niners’ offseason program, he’ll collect a $400,000 bonus.
Cha-ching!
So while Elway is trying to convince Kaepernick and his agents that the QB should take a pay cut from the now-guaranteed $11.9 million base salary he’s set to earn this year to get out of San Francisco, Kaepernick will be with his Niners teammates, each day at the facility paying off, on the field and for his bank account.