Colin Kaepernick To The Seattle Seahawks? Former 49ers' Quarterback Meets With NFC West Champs

The biggest name still remaining on the NFL free agency market could soon find a home for the 2017 season. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will work out with the Seattle Seahawks Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The meeting certainly doesn’t guarantee Kaepernick a spot on an NFL roster, and he is just one option that Seattle in considering. The Seahawks are searching for a veteran quarterback to back up Russell Wilson, and at least one other signal caller is expected to work out with the defending NFC West champs.

The possibility of Kaepernick joining Seattle first seemed like a real possibility last week when head coach Pete Carroll acknowledged that the team was looking at both Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III, among other quarterbacks.

Wilson hasn’t missed a game since the Seahawks drafted him in 2012, though he dealt with multiple injuries in the 2016 season. Undrafted rookie Trevone Boykin played in five games last year, completing 13 of 18 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Boykin performed admirably in his limited time on the field, but he has nowhere near the experience of Kaepernick. Kaepernick nearly won the Super Bowl in 2013 as a starter, and he started 58 games for the 49ers from 2012-2016.

Unable to find a job nearly four months after the Super Bowl, there is a belief by many that Kaepernick is being “blackballed” by the NFL for his national anthem protest last season. The quarterback has stated that he plans to stand when the song is played before the start of games in 2017, though it looks like his actions last year are still hurting his chances of landing a job.

“I think the protest stuff gave people a little pause because anytime you did mention his name, it is a little polarizing,” one NFL personnel director told ESPN’s Mike Sando. “I think that added to it, but the tape itself wasn't as good. Now, granted, there are some lesser quarterbacks who got with teams, so [the anthem protest] had to be the reason, in my opinion, why some people shied away from him.”

Kaepernick's declining production, however, has not done him any favors. Ever since head coach Jim Harbaugh left the 49ers two years ago, he’s been one of the worst starters in the NFL. After going 2-6 with a 78.5 passer rating before being benched in 2015, Kaepernick went 1-10 as a starter in 2016.

The 29-year-old had a respectable 90.7 passer rating last season, though he ranked dead last in yards per game among the quarterbacks that received the majority of starts for one of the league’s 30 teams. Only four of those quarterbacks completed a lower percentage of their passes.

“The difficulty with that guy or a quarterback with a different skill set is how you structure the offense around him if he is a [backup],” an NFL team executive told Sando. "You have to incorporate the skills of a certain player the more he plays. The less he plays, it is harder to do that.”

Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March, which would have paid him $14.5 million, though San Francisco almost certainly would have released him if he didn’t choose to become a free agent.