The 49ers say they’re keeping quarterback Colin Kaepernick. But Kaepernick’s agents are making noises about getting him traded. And now there’s talk that at least two teams are interested in acquiring Kaepernick’s services.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, both the Browns and the Texans are interested in acquiring Kaepernick, if the 49ers are willing to trade him.
Any team that is willing to trade for Kaepernick has to be willing to take on the $11.9 million salary that will be guaranteed as of April 1 (or able to get Kaepernick to renegotiate his contract). An $11.9 million salary sounds like a lot for a quarterback who was benched for Blaine Gabbert last year, but in today’s NFL, that’s actually a mid-level contract: Kaepernick’s 2016 base salary currently ranks 15th in the NFL among quarterbacks.
The Browns and Texans are both in need of a quarterback, and if they don’t think they’ll get the franchise quarterback they need in the draft, Kaepernick could be the answer.