#360view: Kaepernick no longer San Fran’s man after big upheaval

Jay Asser 11:35 04/11/2015
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  • Relegated to the benches: Colin Kaepernick.

    We’re about halfway through the NFL regular season and for the first time, four teams are still unbeaten.

    It’s been a 2-6 team with no chance of making the playoffs, however, that’s been in the headlines the past few days.

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    Kaepernick benched

    The sea of changes continue for the San Francisco 49ers, who will bench quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a desperate attempt to salvage the season.

    It was only in February of 2013 when Kaepernick was at the helm of the 49ers in their first Super Bowl in 18 years, looking like the franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.

    That future has apparently come to an abrupt and disappointing end following Kaepernick’s uninspired play through the first games, in which he played with little confidence.

    The coaching staff clearly didn’t trust him enough to make decisions or certain throws, and that in turn made Kaepernick extremely gun shy.

    It’s not as if Blaine Gabbert will be much better, but Kaepernick wasn’t turning it around. A steep fall for one of the young and exciting duel-threat quarterbacks in the league.

    Vernon trades up

    By trading for Vernon Davis, the Denver Broncos threw the former prolific tight end a life vest to escape the drowning ship that is San Francisco.

    Davis now goes from one of the worst teams in the NFL with an offence that just benched its quarterback for Blaine Gabbert of all people, to one of the four 7-0 teams, quarterbacked by future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.

    The 31-year-old Davis has immense talent, but hasn’t been much of a factor since 2013 when he grabbed 13 touchdowns.

    Tight ends typically shine with Manning throwing them the ball, so if Davis has anything left in the tank, it will be shown in Denver.

    For the Broncos, the moves adds another weapon to the offence which might just be finding its stride.

    Not ready to say goodbye

    Outside of burned defensive backs, there are few who want to see Steve Smith leave the game.

    The feisty wide receiver was set to retire at the end of this year, but after Smith suffered an Achilles injury this past weekend to end his season, the Baltimore Ravens feel he’ll be back.

    It will be a sad day when one of the league’s entertainers hangs up his jersey, but hopefully that time hasn’t come yet.

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