49ers place Colin Kaepernick on Injured Reserve

Barrows also reports that Kaepernick’s recovery is expected to take four to six months.

Since Kaepernick’s 2016 salary of almost $12 million becomes fully guaranteed if he is on the roster April 1, the Niners may try to trade him for draft picks much like the team did with QB Alex Smith in 2013.

Blaine Gabbert will make his second straight start Sunday in place of Kaepernick, who got benched on November 2, a day after the 49ers fell to 2-6 with a loss at the St. Louis Rams.

Baalke said the decision to undergo surgery was the mutual recommendation of the 49ers’ lead orthopedist Tim McAdams and Dr. Peter Millet. Kaepernick first injured his left shoulder in a Week 4 loss to Green Bay, Baalke said.

Kaepernick began the week coming off the team’s bye with soreness in his nonthrowing shoulder, and he brought it to the attention of the medical staff Monday.

Teams nearly never learn on a Friday afternoon after a week of practice that they’ve lost their backup quarterback. The flexed bicep and full-on tats are distant memories now, as are the claims of supposed experts – “I truly believe Colin Kaepernick could be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever”, said Ron Jaworski – that he was revolutionizing the most important position in team sports.

Vernon Davis (left) has already left and Colin Kaepernick has probably played his last game for the 49ers. He wanted to accompany his teammates and help on the sideline during the game, then travel on his own to Colorado, a source said.

But the first-year coach hadn’t publicly ruled out Kaepernick returning at some point.

Kaepernick finishes the season with a career-low 78.5 passer rating. Still, there had to be some thought in the organization that Kaepernick would get another shot before the season ended, just to provide some further evaluation.

He originally injured the shoulder in Week 4, but started the next four games with the inury. He ran for 524 yards that season.

Romo completed 36 of 45 passes for 356 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a season-opening victory over the Giants and threw for 195 yards against the Eagles before the injury. As CBS National Football League insider Jason La Canfora Tweeted out earlier today, the relationship between Kaepernick and the team has been over for weeks. According to Spotrac, Kaepernick has a cap hit of $15.27 million and dead money value of 20.66 million this season.