Colin Kaepernick has been named the starting quarterback for the 49ers. Our panel of NFL Insiders breaks down what went wrong previously with Kaepernick in San Francisco, whether it can be fixed and whether he'll be with the team next season.
From 2012 to 2013, Kaepernick ranked second in Total QBR behind only Peyton Manning (including playoffs). What happened?
John Clayton, senior NFL writer: He was successful early, but he didn't improve. You can't take away what he did well early -- he helped to carry San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII. But like a pitcher in baseball who doesn't adjust to opposing batters, Kaepernick never made adjustments. He struggled to get to his second, third and fourth reads in passing progression. He has an elongated delivery that he hasn't fixed. When he's flushed to his left, he comes out throwing a fastball. In this league, you can't stay stagnant.
Dan Graziano, national NFL Insider: Go back to the Super Bowl season. The 49ers used to talk about the challenge of developing Kaepernick while at the same time taking advantage of his unique ability and the strong group around him to try to win while he developed. They came very close to winning it all, but somewhere along the line, whether it was his fault or the coaching staff's, Kaepernick never advanced as a passer, never corrected the issues with his throwing motion, etc. Add the injuries, the deterioration of the roster and the coaching staff changes of the past two years, and you have a quarterback who's in his sixth actual season but never advanced beyond the second or third year of his NFL development. It's not too dissimilar to the Robert Griffin III story.