Colin Kaepernick reached out to 49ers owner Jed York during their wild 2022 season when both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance were sidelined with injuries. Despite York’s promise to talk to Kyle and John, Kaepernick never heard a single word back. That’s right, the guy who took the team to the Super Bowl got ghosted in their deepest quarterback crisis.
The Emergency Call They Ignored
Kaepernick himself told the SF Standard’s Scott Ostler that he directly contacted Jed York in 2022, right as the team was heading into the playoffs and Garoppolo got hurt. “I’ve been training, I’m ready,” Kaepernick told York, making his intentions clear. York responded that he’d chat with “Kyle and John” and then get back to him. The kicker? That call back never came. Imagine the chaos of a season where your starting quarterback and your backup both go down, leaving playoff hopes in limbo, and an experienced guy who knows your system offers to help. And you don’t reply? Wild.
The Alternative They Chose Instead
Instead of even giving Kaepernick a courtesy call, the 49ers opted for veteran Josh Johnson. Johnson joined the roster in early December after Garoppolo’s season-ending foot injury. He saw action in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 7-of-13 passes for 74 yards. Johnson also fumbled a snap before halftime that Philly recovered, and rushed twice for a meager two yards. While it might not be a shock they didn’t bring Kaepernick back (he hadn’t played in the NFL in six years, and Johnson had five starts in that time), the utter silence from York is still a head-scratcher. A “thanks, but no thanks” would be basic professional courtesy for a former Super Bowl QB.
A Legacy of Numbers and Silence
Kaepernick was the #36 overall pick in the 2011 draft by the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh. He started 58 of his 69 games in San Francisco over six seasons, completing 59.8 percent of his throws for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions. Let’s not forget his legs: he rushed for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns on 375 carries, averaging an incredible 6.1 yards per attempt. That 6.1 YPC average is the fifth-highest mark in NFL history for players with at least 375 rushing attempts. These aren’t small numbers. Kaepernick told Ostler he still trains, holding onto hope an NFL team will take a chance on him. But after being ghosted during the 49ers’ most desperate QB situation, that ship looks like it truly sailed in the Bay Area, and probably for good in the NFL too.
This saga from 2022 is a wild look into the back channels of the league. It showed a former franchise quarterback willing to step up for his old team, only to be met with a wall of silence. For the 49ers, it was a choice that put them on a path with Brock Purdy’s breakout, but for Kaepernick, it cemented a departure that seems irreversible.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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