The St. Louis Rams and the free agent (or close to) QB market

Oct 22, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) passes the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Levi

Colin Kaepernick – San Francisco 49ers – Trade or Release

Kaepernick would appear to have played his final snaps in San Francisco. On the heels of his mega deal that was supposed to keep him in the red and gold until 2021, the young quarterback was placed on IR earlier this year and replaced by former first-round draft selection Blaine Gabbert. Unlike Cousins, Kaepernick was on pace for his worst year to date in terms of touchdowns and interceptions, but on pace for his usual preliminary numbers.

Kaepernick finished his abbreviated 2015 with nine starts. He threw for 1,615 yards on 144 completions. His completion percentage was a very pedestrian 59 percent and his touchdown total reached only six, while tossing five interceptions. The once dominant dual threat quarterback came crashing back to earth in a big way this season. You can certainly draw some of those conclusions back to the loss of players and personnel the 49ers suffered this offseason.

Similar to Cousins, any suitor for Kaepernick is banking on his potential. At just 28-years-old, he’s got plenty of years left in him, and this league still has an appetite for quarterbacks that can throw and create plays with their legs.

Trading Kaepernick may prove to be very difficult given his contract. He is set to make $11.9 million in base salary in 2016, and while that isn’t a huge number for a quarterback, it will be tough to find teams with the ability to fit that into their budget for a player they may not envision as a long-term solution.

St. Louis could be players here. Kaepernick and his mobility can certainly help cover up some of the deficiencies along the Rams offensive line, but his accuracy issues might put them right back in the same boat they find themselves now. A lack of weapons hurt him in San Francisco and things aren’t any different in St. Louis. This would be a very tough sell.

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