Colin Kaepernick requested a trade and has gone so far in his quest to get out of San Francisco that he's met several times with Denver Broncos general manager John Elway. The sides couldn't come to an agreement before the quarterback was scheduled to report for offseason workouts on Monday.
With a $400,000 workout bonus in play, Kaepernick showed up Monday. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport previously reported that the main sticking point -- among several -- in a potential trade to Denver is the quarterback's unwillingness to take a pay cut or for the 49ers to agree to pay some of Kap's $11.9 million salary.
With talks at a standstill, Kaepernick will work out with his current teammates. Even if Chip Kelly, Kaepernick and teammates all say the right things about being happy the quarterback is in the building, several former players wouldn't believe it.
On Monday night's edition of NFL Network's NFL Total Access, LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Robinson both adamantly said they believe Kaepernick will become a locker room problem.
Robinson, who played four seasons with the 49ers, went so far as to say he thinks Kap could turn into a class clown with a case of senioritis until he's traded.
"He shows up, and no I wouldn't take a pay cut, I got $12 million guaranteed, why would I ever take a pay cut? I don't care how much I want to get out of here," Robinson said. "I've got a feeling he showed up today all smiles. Probably balled up some paper and threw it in the front of the class room a few times, to mess with some guys. If they don't get him out of this locker room, he's eventually going to be a problem. He doesn't want to be there."
The 49ers have dealt with reported locker room issues since former coach Jim Harbaugh was pushed out of the building in his final season.
Tomlinson believes that among players the way the team has handled the quarterback situation won't sit well.
"Other guys in this locker room, they are wondering, 'Why is he here?'" LT said. "They are kinda looking (sideways), like man, seriously? Because you know if a guy already said he doesn't want to be here and he's already met with John Elway and the Denver Broncos' brass, your teammates are thinking: 'He's out of here, why is he still in our locker room? He doesn't want to be here.' And it will cause a problem, no matter what anybody says. It's going to cause a problem that he's in that locker room."
Tomlinson added that if Kaepernick doesn't believe he's truly in the team's plans it could undercut Kelly.
"He's not going to listen to anything that Chip Kelly has to say to him, because he already in his mind believes that he's going to be gone," the former NFL MVP said. "So as Chip is up there talking, he's probably rolling his eyes -- probably not literally, but in the back of his mind thinking, 'Man, I don't agree with anything this guy is saying because I'm not going to be here.' So it's just a big mess."
Big mess is right. It's also a mess the team got themselves into with their actions over the past several seasons.
With the NFL draft late this month looking like the next deadline for a potential trade, the 49ers will likely have to deal with Kaepernick in the locker room for at lest the next few weeks.
As two former players see it, that will become a big problem.
