Hold off on those plans about Chip Kelly rekindling Colin Kaepernick's career.
The new 49ers head coach issued a strange and inaccurate comment about his embattled quarterback, according to Pro Football Talk.
Colin Kaepernick May Be Reason Chip Kelly Won 49ers Coaching Job
"I'm not allowed to comment about [Kaepernick] in terms of how he fits into any system because of the CBA rules of we're not allowed to discuss football, I'm not allowed to say who fits where and how they fit," Kelly said. "So I'm gonna wait until April 4 to discuss Kap and the offense."
That can't be comforting news to Kaepernick.
Sam Bradford May Be Chip Kelly's Choice For QB In San Fran
In fact, Kelly can talk about any player under contract with the 49ers, PFT reported after getting clarification from NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.
"Not an issue here for a coach to talk about his own players," McCarthy told Pro Football Talk.
Additionally, the NFL Players' Association has no rules barring coaches speaking to the media about his own players "prior to the offseason program."
Pro Football Talk uncovered Kelly's comments about quarterback Nick Foles after Kelly was introduced as Eagles coach, and Kelly went into detail about Foles' toughness from their college days when Kelly was coach of Oregon and Foles was quarterback at Pac-12 rival Arizona.
Plus, Kaepernick's contract has a provision in it saying that the 49ers can release him before April 1 and be free of any further financial obligation. That makes Kelly's date of April 4 seem anything but coincidental.
Kelly's comments fit with the notion that the 49ers didn't alert Kaepernick they had hired Kelly last week, but Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported that the team chose Kelly over Mike Shanahan on the basis that Shanahan had expressed an interest in moving on from Kaepernick.
But Kelly's strange interpretation of the NFL rules opens the possibility that Kaepernick is still on the outs with the 49ers.
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