Quarterback controversies, player hold-outs, stars hitting unrestricted free agency. When it comes to the NFL, these are a few of the things teams do not want to deal with.
So the San Francisco 49ers are trying to be proactive with their rising star quarterback Colin Kaepernick. According to CSN Bay Area, head coach Jim Harbaugh believes signing Kaep to an extension is on top of the Niners off-season list.
“Those things have a process that play out.,” Harbaugh said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. “The priority is Colin Kaepernick is a San Francisco 49er for however long we can have him be a San Francisco 49er. It’s definitely a high priority.”
You can’t really blame San Francisco for wanting to get something done. Kaep has the option of becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of his contract. Letting a young, stud quarterback who just lead you to back-to-back NFC Title Games hit the open market is not something the Niners want to do.
The biggest question in this negotiation will not be whether or not San Francisco trusts Kaep to lead them to the promised land, it will be whether or not the Niners are willing to put down the type of money he is looking for.
Early rumors suggested Kaepernick was looking for something in the $18 million per year range, and it would shock most if he didn’t get that type of money. This is especially true when you consider that is what guys like Jay Cutler, Tony Romo and Matthew Stafford are making per season, with less impressive results.
It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but something tells me the Niners will never let this Kaep contract become an issue. Especially when he’s capable of doing things like this.
What do you guys think? Is Kaepernick worth that kind of money or does he still need to prove himself? Sound off in the comments or hit me up on Twitter and let us know!
