Joe Montana Comments on Colin Kaepernick's Relationship with 49ers Teammates

Joe Montana was the quarterback during the golden age for the San Francisco 49ers, and he recently discussed the concerns surrounding his old franchise and current signal-caller Colin Kaepernick with Sports Illustrated (via Mitch Sanderson of The Score):  

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(The quarterback) is usually the leader of the team in most cases. And people look to (Kaepernick) at this point, and he's a quiet person. You know, he doesn't share a lot, he doesn't talk to a lot of the guys. And that's difficult for an offense to operate because the communication between the quarterback and the receiver is one of the most important things.

Even with your offensive line, when there's problems, you have to be able to talk to those guys and figure it out while you're out on the field. And when you have a guy who doesn't really want to be there, you don't know whether to put yourself behind him or not. And you want to believe in him, but if he doesn't want to be there then—I'm sure they did everything they could to try and get him to some place he'd be happy because it would be best for both teams.

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If anybody would know about leadership and communication with teammates from the quarterback spot, it is the Hall of Famer. Montana won four Super Bowl rings with San Francisco, was named the Super Bowl MVP in three of them and reached eight Pro Bowls during his illustrious career. He is also largely considered one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

Sanderson speculated the 49ers are looking to start Blaine Gabbert at quarterback because of rumors that Kaepernick requested a trade and has “an unhealthy relationship with the front office.”

Sanderson also pointed out one of Montana’s favorite targets, Jerry Rice, said on Sports Illustrated Now in April that it is probably hard to play with Kaepernick because “he doesn’t want to be there.”

Kaepernick underwent three offseason shoulder surgeries and hasn’t fully started throwing again, per Sanderson. Between Kaepernick's health concerns and his reportedly uneasy relationship with the front office, Gabbert has the opportunity to move ahead in any quarterback race under new coach Chip Kelly.

Kaepernick appeared in nine games last season and threw for 1,615 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. While it was a disappointing campaign for the 5-11 49ers, he is still capable of being one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the league.

He threw for more than 3,000 yards and ran for over 500 yards two straight years in 2013 and 2014. He also led the 49ers to the Super Bowl during the 2012 season, where they eventually lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

He is only 28 years old and theoretically has plenty of time remaining in his prime.

As for Gabbert, he has 33 touchdown passes and 31 interceptions in his career and has yet to live up to his billing as a former No. 10 overall pick. He appeared in eight games for San Francisco last year and tossed 10 touchdowns and seven picks, which marked the first time since his rookie campaign in 2011 that he reached double-digit touchdowns.

Each signal-caller needs a big season to convince the 49ers front office he deserves to be a part of the team's long-term outlook.