Kaepernick addresses rocky offseason in first media appearance of 2016
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick spoke with the media Thursday for the first time since the end of the 2015 season.
Kaepernick has had three surgeries since he last played and expressed strong interest in moving on to another team during the offseason, but failed to secure a destination.
The 28-year-old refused to go into detail about his failed trade request at the media session.
"Organizations at the end of the season go through and evaluate personnel and opportunities," Kaepernick said, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. "That was something, I sat down with my team and did the same thing. That’s how we handled the business.
"We were looking at different opportunities. I don't want to get into specifics of what happened, why things happened. At this point, everything is football. I'm a 49er."
Given his lack of options, Kaepernick has elected to make the best of his situation in San Francisco, stating he is "very confident" that the 49ers are giving him the best chance for success.
"What Chip (Kelly), the coaching staff, my teammates have really done this offseason, and the work they’ve put in and how everything has been going, I’m very excited to be here," Kaepernick said. "I’m very happy to be here. And looking forward to training camp."
Kaepernick hasn't participated in team workouts, but he's recently resumed throwing and expects to be cleared relatively soon.
"My health is doing well," Kaepernick said. "I'm happy to get back out on the field this week. Everything's coming along, progressing as planned. At this point I can really get rolling. And I'm excited to get back on the field, get healthy and be ready for this training camp."
Fellow 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert has been taking snaps with the first-team offense since Kaepernick lost his starting job last season and is reportedly the "heavy favorite" to win the starter's job.
It's easy for Kaepernick to say all the right things in June, but the real test will start when he hits the field to earn his job in training camp.