49ers Kaepernick: Weight, Diet may be Delaying Recovery

Colin Kaepernick is clearly much thinner than he has ever been since he entered the NFL in 2011. While he is looming large off the field, his inability to put on weight, perhaps due to his vegan diet, may be holding him back from being ready to take the field.

Ask San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly about Colin Kaepernick and he will give you one response: The guy simply isn’t physically ready for football.

“I don’t think he’s ready to go full time. He’s continuing to work on it. I think he’s over there right now. And, Kap will be the first to tell you, if you guys have been around here before, I think his playing weight has been around 225 and he’s not at that right now. So, he’s going out there and continuing to work, continuing to get better. He had a serious layoff in terms of being able to medical rehab. To get the full Kap for what you need, the potential that he has, he needs to continue to just work on the physical aspect of things.” – 49ers HC Chip Kelly

I think his playing weight has been around 225 and he’s not at that right now. Those words are pretty straightforward. Kaepernick’s not staying on the sideline due to his activism. And no matter who you think is better between Blaine Gabbert and Kaepernick, no decision can be made so long as Kaep’s physical ability remains in question.

Yes, Kaepernick is the backup quarterback. He could play in relief if need be, but, at least according to Kelly, he still lacks the stamina to play a full NFL game.

A big part of the reason Number 7 lost so much weight this offseason was due to his three offseason surgeries, making lifting difficult. Kaepernick’s vegan diet — which he started about ten months ago — certainly has done nothing to help.

It has potentially, if not likely, been holding him back in his recovery. While vegan diets may be very healthy for some individuals, I have to question the health benefits for a professional athlete — who has much higher protein needs than the average person. Especially for an athlete recovering from an injury and attempting to gain strength.