Jimmy Garoppolo left Sunday's 38-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a knee injury, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that the team feared its franchise quarterback had hurt his ACL.
That leaves San Francisco with C.J. Beathard as the only QB on its roster, although Nick Mullens is on the practice squad. Beathard had a 69.2 passer rating in seven appearances for the 49ers last season, while Mullens has yet to take an NFL snap, leaving some fans to clamor for a familiar face: Former San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick.
So if Jimmy G is out, can @Kaepernick7 get signed? @49ers @NinersNation
— Monti Rossetti (@RossettiMonti) September 23, 2018
Hey @49ers don’t be stupid we need another QB now and @Kaepernick7 is ready!
— Pej Vahdat (@pejvahdat) September 23, 2018
Kaepernick looking at the 49ers like pic.twitter.com/QYHZhelvTr
— Trev (@DaBigJohnson61x) September 23, 2018
The 49ers should go get Kap. Lol..
— Charles (@Chuckielee17) September 23, 2018
Call Kap
— SFPatriot (@sfpatriot) September 23, 2018
Aye @49ers ... y’all know my man Kap’s number?? @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/h4fI4PDkqb
— Mikey_Sheesh (@SheeShDaDj) September 23, 2018
@49ers please bring back Colin Kaepernick 🏈miss him! pic.twitter.com/acimTLARuL
— Lori Keith (@lokeygcd) September 23, 2018
Hey, 49ers, Kaepernick is available.
— Nathan sociaL.ly distanced Walls (@base10) September 23, 2018
Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem in the 2016 season to protest racial injustice and inequality, hasn't played since opting out of his contract a year-and-a-half ago. 49ers general manager John Lynch told ProFootballTalk last year that the team would've cut Kaepernick had he not opted out of his contract.
Of course, the 49ers also are banged up in the secondary, losing Richard Sherman to a calf injury and free safety Adrian Colbert to a shoulder injury. Former 49ers safety Eric Reid, who kneeled alongside Kaepernick in 2016 and on his own last season, also remains unsigned.
Kaepernick's close friend, University of California Berkeley professor Ameer Hasan Loggins, offered his thoughts on the predicament facing the 49ers.
Isn’t it interesting how the 49ers NEED Kaepernick and Eric Reid? pic.twitter.com/SYZlaSwkW8
— L E F T, PhD ⚫️ (@LeftSentThis) September 23, 2018
Kaepernick currently is suing the NFL for collusion, and the NFL Players Association has filed a grievance on Reid's behalf.
A reunion with the quarterback is unlikely. Shanahan told reporters at last year's training camp that the 49ers chose to move on from Kaepernick in order to have three quarterbacks with similar skillsets.
"I think when we knew we didn’t want to fully bring him in as the starter, I thought it was a big commitment to make for a guy that I wasn’t sure was going to be the starter and that’s really more what you look at," Shanahan said at the time.
Plus, he told reporters Sunday that he's "definitely happy" with the quarterbacks the 49ers already have in the building.
Shanahan did, however, express an openness to re-sign Reid when asked about the possibility in August.
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