While the Denver Broncos can’t even be sure they’ll have their own Brandon Marshall at OTAs — some Snooze might help — Colin Kaepernick, who doesn’t even want to be a member of the San Francisco 49ers, will gladly be at his.
Don't know if this has been reported, but an NFL source indicates that Colin Kaepernick is expected to report to 49ers OTAs on Monday.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) April 4, 2016
In fact, we have visual proof!
https://twitter.com/rashadalaiyan/status/716846921717932032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Why? Oh, well $400,000 probably.
Kaepernick has a $400,000 workout bonus, and as we’ve learned over the last few days, Kaepernick is not willing to give up a cent of the money he’s owed, even if that means awkwardly working out with the organization you’ve said you want no part of. For the Broncos, though, this raises an important question: Will this affect the trade?
And in some way, shape or form, the answer is probably yes. Whether it’ll affect it positively or negatively, we don’t yet know.
Mike Klis of 9News gives us a couple ideas:
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/716838930574761984
Maybe Klis is right, or maybe Kaepernick does care that much about $400,000, and maybe he won’t take a $4.9 million pay cut to come to Denver. If this is simply a tactic, then who’s he targeting it towards? The Broncos aren’t budging — they can’t — and the 49ers are more than happy for him to stay in San Francisco.
The better guess is that he’s showing up because, well, why not? Whether you’re a millionaire or an Average Joe, $400,000 is $400,000; there’s no reason for Kaepernick to throw that money to the wind just to prove a point.
He can show up, earn his money and continue to negotiate a trade just the same.
It does, though, open the door for the 49ers. As Klis remembers, the Broncos were once in a very similar position.
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/716836866935234563
Maybe a warm embrace from Chip Kelly is all Kaepernick needs to know he’s loved again in San Fran? And if Kelly really does want a crack at restarting Kaepernick’s career, you can bet that he’ll have a word or two for him while at OTAs.
Will it be enough?
The Kaepernick trade rumors have been burning strong for the last month, and they don’t seem to be dying down soon. Based off recent reports, it would seem that the Broncos and Kaepernick are closer than ever, but negotiations can always take a turn for the worse.
As of right now, all Broncos Country can do is sit and wait patiently. It could be awhile.
