Colin Kaepernick has touched base with his employer.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback visited the team's Santa Clara headquarters on Wednesday, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area.
"I would characterize it as a really positive discussion ... Colin left excited," new general manager John Lynch told KNBR-AM in San Francisco after the visit.
The meeting comes one day after Lynch told 95.7 The Game that he and first-year coach Kyle Shanahan planned to "communicate" with the 29-year-old signal-caller, saying: "I think that's very important for both sides. Like everything else, that process is well in the works. We'll continue to do that and we'll be very up-front with him, in terms of what we're thinking and we'll want to know what he's thinking, as well."
It's a refreshing approach by the 49ers, but Kaepernick is widely expected, on March 2, to opt out of a contract set to pay him $16.9 million in salary and bonuses.
What unfolded between the team and passer behind closed doors on Wednesday could impact that decision. So could San Francisco's pursuit of another starter -- namely Washington's Kirk Cousins or New England's Jimmy Garoppolo. If Shanahan can wrestle away either in a trade -- assuming the Redskins tag Cousins -- then paying Kaepernick his hefty salary makes zero sense.
Speaking this week, Shanahan expressed no desire to panic under center, telling KNBR-AM: "You don't want to gamble. You want to be aggressive in everything, but you got to do what's right. You have to build your team the right way and that's what I mean by being patient."
Pretty words, but Shanahan is no newbie. He knows the honeymoon will end quickly in San Francisco if the team endures another season of horrid quarterback play.
No matter what anyone says, Kaepernick is hardly atop the coach's wish list.
