Is it Curtains for Colin Kaepernick?

It’s been a rough year for San Francisco 49ers fans.

Not to mention the Niners themselves.

It was not that long ago that the team -- with, ahem, Jim Harbaugh calling the shots -- was a mere seven yards away from their sixth Super Bowl victory.

But it now seems like long ago.

Now the team's in freefall, as the combination of the Harbaugh firing and a mass player exodus has left it a shell of its former Super Bowl-level self.

Nowhere is this freefall better personnified than in the play of Colin Kaepernick.

The former Nevada alpha Wolf's career took off in 2012, when Alex Smith went down with a concussion late in the season. Kaepernick performed well enough to force Harbaugh to make the controversial decision to continue playing him over the extremely capable Smith.

Kaepernick rose to the occasion, getting the Niners all the way to the Super Bowl in his first real season as a starting quarterback. He'd then engineer the 49ers back to the NFC Championship game the following season, falling a few yards short of a game-tying drive.

After that, dude’s career hasn’t been the same.

The 49ers former game plan strategy of a strong o-line and running game was replaced with the decision to let Kaepernick air it out more, which may have exposed him as an average quarterback, who benefited from a great coach and his schemes.

The sad thing is that Kaepernick is extremely talented. Dude can run with the best of them, and he’s got a cannon for an arm. However, his game does have many caveats.

Critics have cited his poor decision-making, bad field vision, and regressing accuracy as among his game’s many weaknesses. It also doesn’t help doing it all behind one of the worst offensive lines in team history.

Kaepernick’s struggles seem to have finally come to a head, as the 49ers have decided to roll with Blaine Gabbert as their starting slinger. And yes, that's the same Blaine Gabbert who couldn’t make it with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Is this the end for Kaepernick?

Being benched for Blaine Gabbert would lead one to say yes.

However, a change of scenery in the offseason may just be enough to save a once promising career. If another team agrees to that change, of course.