Colin Kaepernick Reportedly 'On an Island' in 49ers Locker Room

Confidence is an important thing in all aspects of life, especially if you're an NFL quarterback. But San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick doesn't appear to have any these days.

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Kaepernick seems to be stranded in San Francisco.

"His confidence is completely shot," Glazer wrote. "It's not that (the players) don't like him. But he's just alone, on an island in that locker room. There's not a lot of people he connects with. Confidence-wise he's just buried right now."

His lack of confidence has shown this season, too. The 49ers are 2-5, coming off a 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which Kaepernick went 13-of-24 for 124 yards.

For a man with the responsibility of leading the offense, it's hardly the ideal situation. Glazer reported that the 49ers have options.

"They can move on from him at the end of the year provided he is not injured," he said. "That's not the team's mindset. They look at him and say, 'This is the same guy that took us to the Super Bowl.'"

Kaepernick is under contract through the 2020 season after signing a six-year, $114 million deal in 2014, per Spotrac, which suggested San Francisco saw him as a franchise quarterback after he led them to an NFC title in 2012.

But his on-field struggles and the locker-room situation might not be the only things that are sapping his confidence. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News took a closer look.

"Not to say that Kaepernick’s play doesn’t deserve scrutiny—he has been bad. ... Under any kind of inspection you could see it wasn’t any kind of true long-term commitment to him; it was a series of one-year deals that was set up for Kaepernick to be re-evaluated constantly," he wrote.

If confidence is low, motivation might not be high, either, as playing for a team that is falling out of contention has to be disheartening. For Kaepernick, a continuation of subpar performances might spell the end of his time in San Francisco.

Head coach Jim Tomsula, who has backed Kaepernick, may have to work harder to get Kaepernick off this social island in the locker room and try to build camaraderie among teammates.

“Colin’s our quarterback today," said Tomsula when asked who will be the QB in Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams, according to Matt Maioccoo of CSN Bay Area.   

In the meantime, upper management has the perfect opportunity to support its quarterback one more time and perhaps give him a confidence boost. If not, the writing may be on the wall for teams to start inquiring about Kaepernick.

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.