Colin Kaepernick will play in preseason finale
By Hayden Kane
The San Francisco 49ers’ offense has not gotten on track yet during the 2014 preseason. Chief among those who are struggling is quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and those struggles have earned Kaepernick some work in the team’s fourth and final preseason game.
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According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, 49ers’ coach Jim Harbaugh indicated in no uncertain terms that the team’s franchise quarterback will be starting and playing in the preseason game that is normally a day off for the starters.
"Coach Jim Harbaugh said after Sunday’s loss to the Chargers that Kaepernick will play in the preseason finale at Houston.“Yes, he’ll play,” Harbaugh said of Kaepernick. “We’ll go into it like we have these other games.”Asked whether he wants to play in the preseason finale, the characteristically concise Kaepernick said, “That’s coach’s decision.”"
In Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers, Kaepernick went 6-for-12 passing for 59 yards and no touchdowns. For the preseason he has completed just 53 percent of his passes for no touchdowns with one interception. Granted the small sample size and context of preseason stats do not necessarily make them useful, but the combination of the stats and the story being told by Harbaugh points to a bit of concern in San Francisco.
Equipped with a fresh new contract extension, Kaepernick will look to build on a young career that has been quite successful through two seasons. In order to do so, however, he will have to prepare for and play in the final preseason game instead of taking the game off like he expected.