The San Francisco 49ers agreed to restructure Colin Kaepernick's contract, giving him a player option for the 2017 season - allowing him to become a free agent once this year ends. Now that he is also the starter in San Francisco, he gets to audition for every team in the league. Which teams may be interested in acquiring him in the offseason? Here are the five most likely teams Kaepernick could play for:
5) Buffalo Bills
The Bills have a quality starter in Tyrod Taylor, but E.J. Manuel should not be their backup - and his contract expires after the season. Head coach Rex Ryan hasn't been shy about how much he loves mobile quarterbacks, and if Kaepernick struggles this year and/or doesn't get any starting offers on the open market, he makes sense in Buffalo as a backup.
4) Houston Texans
Brock Osweiler has been very...um...inconsistent as Houston's quarterback this season, which could cause them to look in another direction this offseason - or least bring someone else in for competition. Head coach Bill O'Brien is a quarterback guru, and it's impressive that he has gotten the Texans as far as he has given his crop of quarterbacks. Kaepernick needs work as a passer, and there are few coaches better at getting the most out of their QBs than O'Brien.
3) New York Jets
Ryan Fitzpatrick is a short-term option and has not been very good this year (at all), and he's not the QB to lead the Jets for years to come. Geno Smith certainly isn't the answer, and Kaepernick would be a major upgrade over Smith - even if you bring him in just to be the backup. Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg both have a ways to go before they can contribute and Chan Gailey, their offensive coordinator, prefers a mobile quarterback. The Jets and Kaepernick were already linked last offseason.
2) Cleveland Browns
This is more out of need than anything else. Robert Griffin III got hurt in his first game in Cleveland, Josh McCown (who also can't stay healthy) will be 38 years old next season, and Cody Kessler is not this team's long-term answer at quarterback. If Kaepernick plays well, Cleveland could be the team to take a gamble on him - if there's not a quarterback in this draft they like, since they're projected to have a high pick.
1) San Francisco 49ers
More likely than not, Kaepernick will stay in San Francisco. If he plays well this season, he will be their long-term starter again. If he doesn't do anything special, the 49ers will likely draft a quarterback and keep Kaepernick to either compete for the job or back him up. At the same time, he will almost certainly end up somewhere else if he struggles and/or gets benched before the end of the season.