If the #Broncos lose QB Brock Osweiler, expect them to come after QB Colin Kaepernick. That appears to be their backup plan.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
The #Broncos have ramped up their efforts to keep QB Brock Osweiler and negotiations are ongoing. It’s them or #Texans.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
More on a potential #49ers deal with #Broncos for Colin Kaepernic: John Elway has as close a relationship with Trent Baalke as with any GM.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
Brock Osweiler hasn’t started in or won any playoff games. He isn’t much of a rushing threat, either. But he knows Gary Kubiak’s system and played pretty well in seven starts. Far better than Colin Kaepernick, anyway. He averaged more yards per attempt and completed a higher percentage of his passes than Kaepernick, who started in eight games. Osweiler also passed for more yards and touchdowns than Kaepernick, who did manage to throw one fewer interception than Osweiler (I don’t have stats on how many cameramen were nailed with errant Osweiler throws, unfortunately).
John Elway isn’t afraid to make bold changes, but replacing a known quantity with Kaepernick, who’s three years older and coming off three surgeries, makes very little sense for a team that just won the championship with a quarterback who runs as fast as Andy Reid. And if the offers from Denver and Houston are similar, why would Osweiler (who was born in Idaho and grew up in Montana, if location matters at all to him) leave a team with the league’s best defense and a familiar offense?
Elway knows this, which could be why he or someone else is discussing his alleged interest in Kaepernick with a reporter from NFL Network.
Moving from the 49ers to the Broncos would be a dream scenario for Kaepernick, and it would go against what John Clayton said last week on 95.7 The Game. However, the only way it’s happening is if the Texans (or some other team that hasn’t been mentioned) offer Osweiler an insane amount of money. And even if that happens, Elway may be bluffing — he could always turn his attention toward another quarterback like Ryan Fitzpatrick and select his replacement in the draft, if Osweiler leaves.
So to answer the question posed in the headline, Kaepernick probably represents the latter to Denver’s GM.
