INDIANAPOLIS – What coaches and general managers say at the Combine can often be meaningless. For example, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said Sam Bradford would be back in St. Louis for the 2015 season when he talked in Indianapolis a year ago.
Still, it's worth noting a few nuggets from today's press conferences at the NFL Combine.
First, Niners general manager Trent Baalke was asked about Colin Kaepernick's status with the team.
"The good thing is we’ve got two guys who’ve gone into games and proven they can play," said Baalke. "Colin’s done some awfully good things in his career, won some big games for the San Francisco 49ers. I expect him to come back. The main focus right now is his health. He’s doing a good job with his rehab. I’ve talked to the medical staff and that seems to be going very well. Just look forward to getting him back and getting him working with this coaching staff."
When asked more definitively if he expected Kaepernick to be back on the Niners' roster, Baalke replied, "Absolutely."
If we're assuming there are no smokescreens in play, that would of course eliminate Kaepernick as an already extremely unlikely option to be the Eagles' quarterback in 2016. More importantly, it would drastically lower the chances of the Niners signing Sam Bradford in free agency.
Meanwhile, Fisher said that Case Keenum would be his starter this season, with Nick Foles serving as the backup.
The Eagles were reported to have interest in Foles. A season ago, Foles had a 69.0 quarterback rating and was arguably the worst starter in the NFL. Naming him the backup for the time being doesn't come as a surprise, but it does reiterate that the Rams would be willing to move on from him.
And finally, for anyone who thought the Buffalo Bills could be a dark-horse for Bradford, not so much. Bills head coach Rex Ryan, speaking about Tyrod Taylor said, "This year we know we have our starting quarterback."
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