Michael Crabtree Admits QB Change Divided Team’s Locker Room
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Harry How/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Looking back on it, when the San Francisco 49ers named Colin Kaepernick the team’s starting quarterback, it was a brilliant move. But at the time, it was met with some resistance from some of the players.
The team’s original starting quarterback, Alex Smith, suffered a concussion during the middle of the season, and Kaepernick stepped in and never gave up his status as the team’s starter. He kept the job and led the team to the Super Bowl. Despite the team’s success, wide receiver Michael Crabtree says the quarterback switch was a major issue internally.
“You had guys on Alex Smith’s side, guys on Colin Kaepernick’s side,” Crabtree said via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “I was on the winning side… You can’t beat the guy who was hot. Kap was hot. As soon as he came in, even though we lost the game – I think it was a tie, that game – he came in and it just went up from there. We were scoring that many more touchdowns.”
Crabtree also said that Kaepernick “kind of won everybody over by winning.”
Kaepernick not only convinced his teammates, but also the front office as Smith was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this offseason.
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