NFL News: 49ers GM Clarifies Colin Kaepernick Trade Rumors

The San Francisco 49ers are not going to trade quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Bleacher Report wrote that Trent Baalke, general manager of the 49ers issued a brief statement denying talks that the team is going to release Kaepernick.

"Colin is our quarterback and we are excited to have him. He is not going anywhere. The media reports suggesting otherwise are without merit and, quite frankly, ridiculous."

There were also reports that there were NFL teams interested in acquiring the quarterback, such as the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles. However, the 49ers are not willing to trade him.

Sports Illustrated reported that Jayson Braddock of KBME in Houston was the first to report that Kaepernick was going on the trading block and that the 49ers are taking offers.

NFL.com has reported that Baalke's statement is believable considering the circumstances in the NFL. Matt Cassel is a much-needed trade target while Brian Hoyer is expected to become a starter in the following season. Although Kaepernick is not the same guy that helped bring the 49ers to the Super Bowl over two years ago, he still has the skills and leadership that can win games. At this point, Kaepernick remains a good and reliable quarterback who will work well with the team's other assets. Even if the 49ers indeed decide to part with Kaepernick, there is no better quarterback currently available to replace him with effectively.

In the same article by Bleacher Report, San Francisco had Kaepernick sign a six-year extension on June 2014, valued at over $110 million, with $61 million guaranteed.

However, it is also worthy to note that Kaepernick's performance has to improve to give equal value to what the team is paying him. His numbers continue to go down since 2012. His quarterback rating was 98.3 in 2012 then became 91.6 a year later and finally 86.4 in 2014. The 8-8 49ers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. There are some who believe that San Francisco will continue to move Kaepernick until he is actually traded.

USA Today reported that the following NFL season is not expected to be good for the 49ers so it would not make much of a difference whether or not they keep Kaepernick. The team should at least check the offers made available and make drastic changes, considering that there is no rebuilding in the NFL. There might be teams in desperate need of a good quarterback to make a good offer which would be difficult for San Francisco to refuse.