With San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo having suffered a knee injury during the team’s 38-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, that leaves the team with two remaining options at quarterback — C.J. Beathard, who started for the team in 2017 prior to Garoppolo’s arrival, and practice squad player Nick Mullens. Given this lack of experience behind center, fans are reportedly clamoring for San Francisco to sign their now-controversial starting quarterback from earlier in the decade: Colin Kaepernick.
According to NBC Sports , several 49ers fans took to Twitter after news of Garoppolo’s potentially season-ending injury broke, tagging the team’s official account and reminding officials that Kaepernick, who hasn’t played a down in the NFL since the end of the 2016 season, is available. Kaepernick started kneeling during the singing of the national anthem during the 2016 NFL season and later opted out of his contract with San Francisco, following a season where he threw 16 touchdown passes and four interceptions for the team.
Although many San Francisco 49ers fans believe Colin Kaepernick could be the answer to their quarterback problems following Jimmy Garoppolo’s injury, USA Today wrote that there are several reasons why 49ers general manager John Lynch won’t allow the free agent signal-caller to return to the team. Citing Lynch’s comments from March, 2017, which suggested a “reunion” wasn’t out of the question, USA Today pointed out that the statement was made at a time when the 49ers didn’t have any quarterbacks on the roster, and before Kaepernick sued the NFL for collusion.
49ers fear Jimmy Garoppolo has serious knee injury after being carted to locker room with non-contact injury, per @RapSheet pic.twitter.com/fpOUGdrEa1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 23, 2018
If it turns out that the Jimmy Garoppolo injury is as bad as we fear, the #49ers can always bring back Colin Kaepernick.
— Michael LaRocca (@MichaelLaRocca0) September 24, 2018
@49ers since Jimmy Garappolo might be done for the season with a ACL tear. I think it would be smart of your franchise to bring back @Kaepernick7 He was the last Qb to lead y’all to a super bowl. ????? JUST SAYING….. #BringBackKap
— Verlain Betofe (@CoachVMAKASI) September 24, 2018
In addition to the above reasons, USA Today opined that Kaepernick is not a good fit for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, due to his decreased accuracy after the team’s Super Bowl appearance in 2013 and his “suspect touch” as a passer. The publication added that Lynch was planning to release Kaepernick anyway after the 2016 season, had he not decided to opt out, and also predicted that “Kap” might not be willing to back up an “unproven” youngster like Beathard.
As reported earlier on Sunday by the Inquisitr , Jimmy Garoppolo is believed to have possibly suffered an ACL tear in the fourth quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his injury.
A former backup to Tom Brady on the New England Patriots, Garoppolo was acquired midway through the 2017 NFL season for a second-round pick and was later signed to a new five-year, $137.5 million contract. Garoppolo has a QB rating of 77.4 for the first two games of the 2018 season, with three touchdown passes and three interceptions, according to Pro Football Reference .
