The Seattle Seahawks have reportedly emerged as the first team to show interest in former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider reached out to Kaepernick’s agent on Friday, Mike Silver of the NFL Network reported. Agents Jeffrey Nalley and Sean Kiernan began representing Kaepernick at the end of last season.
Seattle has interest in Kaepernick to serve as Russell Wilson’s backup, according to the report. The Seahawks have three quarterbacks on the roster: Wilson, and second-year players Trevone Boykin and Jake Heaps.
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Boykin appeared in five games last season, completing 13 of 18 pass attempts for 145 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Boykin was arrested twice within an 11-day period this offseason. He was arrested March 27 under suspicion of public intoxication and marijuana possession. He was arrested days later for a possible probation violation stemming from a guilty plea in 2015 for misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Kaepernick, 29, a six-year NFL veteran, opted out of his 49ers contract before the opening of free agency after meeting with 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan on Feb. 22. Lynch said the 49ers would have released Kaepernick if he had not opted out.
The 49ers have shown no interest in re-signing Kaeperick. The 49ers have four quarterbacks currently on their 90-man roster. The team signed veteran quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley on the first day of free agency. The team drafted C.J. Beathard in the third round and added Nick Mullens as an undrafted rookie.
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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll seemed to brush off a question about the team’s interest in Kaepernick when asked about him and fellow free-agent quarterback, Robert Griffin, Monday morning on a radio show.
“We’re looking at everybody,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle. “Really. We really are. We’ve been tracking everything that’s going on. We’ve got (salary) cap and roster issues and stuff like that that we’re still trying to make sure that we manage properly. But, quite frankly, yes, we are looking at all of those guys.”
Kaepernick is coming off his best statistical season since 2013, his first full year as a starter. Kaepernick completed 59.2 percent of his pass attempts for 2,241 yards in 11 starts. He threw 16 touchdown passes with four interceptions. His passer rating was 90.7.