As Colin Kaepernick's $11.9 million salary became guaranteed this week, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback was reportedly meeting with a potential trade partner.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports Kaepernick met with Denver Broncos general manager John Elway this week to further the feeling-out process and discuss contractual issues, per two sources informed of the situation.
Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the Elway-Kaepernick meeting at Elway's house.
The meeting did not produce an agreement on a potential pay cut. If the Broncos and Kaepernick want a trade bad enough, it can happen, but there are still obstacles which the meeting didn't solve.
It was at least the second meeting between the two since the Niners gave permission for Kaepernick's camp to seek a trade. Without that permission, Elway would not be able to speak directly with the quarterback.
Kaepernick has been rehabbing from three surgeries in Vail, Colorado.
The quarterback has little incentive to adjust an already team-friendly contract, unless he wants out of San Francisco strongly enough to pay his way out of town.
The meeting this week confirms that if Kap is traded, Denver is the likely destination and both sides are doing their due diligence.
Kaepernick to Denver makes obvious sense, if the quarterback wants out of San Francisco. The Broncos remain the only team in the running to acquire the quarterback and Denver currently sits in the suboptimal position of having Mark Sanchez atop their depth chart.
With no deadline to spur action until the NFL Draft at the end of the month, the Kaepernick-Elway meeting confirms mutual interest, but gets us no closer to a deal getting done.
The 49ers open offseason workouts on Monday. With a workout bonus in play, Kaepernick is likely to show. From there the speculation will continue to spiral until a resolution comes to fruition.
