Colin Kaepernick Has New Negative Leaks Emerge from 49ers over Work Ethic

A San Francisco 49ers staffer has once again shed a negative light on former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, questioning his work ethic and desire to play football. 

“As one Niners employee explained it, Kaepernick wouldn’t stay late at the facility during the season like many quarterbacks routinely do, saying he’d take work home,” Albert Breer of TheMMQB wrote. “And there were examples where coaches saw what looked like shoddy prep surfacing in inexplicable mental errors in games. Another staffer, asked if he thinks Kaepernick wants to keep playing, answered, ‘I do think he wants to play—to stay relevant.'”

Kaepernick, 29, remains a free agent after opting out of his contract with the 49ers for 2017. His only meeting with a team has been with the Seattle Seahawks, who opted to sign Austin Davis rather than bring in Kaepernick as a backup.

Once the face of the 49ers franchise, Kaepernick's social activism appears to have left him with limited employment chances.

His passing numbers (16 TD, 4 INT, 90.7 rating) from last season were more than good enough to get him a backup job somewhere. But teams seem wary of alienating fans who were offended by his decision to kneel during the national anthem, and leaks out of the 49ers offices have not helped matters.

49ers general manager John Lynch attempted to quell all perception that Kaepernick does not want to play football last month. 

“I want to put that to rest,” Lynch said on PFT Live. “I’m sorry that this came out of this building.  That’s one of the challenges that I’m finding is controlling the message that comes out of your building. There’s so many people, and it’s hard to find because, ‘Sources this, sources that.’ I didn’t feel good about that and I’ve talked to Colin.

"That was what was most important to me, to talk to Colin directly and let him know that I was sorry that that did [come out] and that nothing else like that will come out of this building if I have anything to do with it.  That’s where that is.  We wish Colin the best and I can tell everybody out there he very much is sincere in his interest to get back in this league, and I hope it works out for him.”

Kaepernick has been almost radio silent on football topics, with his Twitter feed mostly being used for social justice causes.