San Francisco 49ers: Colin Kaepernick "absolutely" on team in '16

INDIANAPOLIS -- The San Francisco 49ers are prepared to pay quarterback Colin Kaepernick his $1.125 million roster bonus and $11.9 million base salary in 2016.

That does not mean he will be the team's starter in Week 1 come September.

Asked at the NFL combine on Wednesday if Kaepernick will be on the roster at the beginning of the new league year on March 9, general manager Trent Baalke offered a simple, "Absolutely."

Kaepernick, who is currently rehabbing from surgeries on his thumb and knee, will battle with Blaine Gabbert and whoever else the franchise brings in to compete for the job.

Baalke said the 49ers will "kick the tires" on everyone available, including veteran free agents and the quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft class. He wouldn't tip his hand on who the team might have its eye on, but Baalke dispelled the notion that new head coach Chip Kelly prefers mobile quarterbacks to run his up-tempo style of offense.

"Some (quarterbacks) are going to fit, some aren't going to fit, and there's nothing different with this draft class," Baalke said at the NFL combine on Wednesday. "That's the beauty of what we do, it's in the eye of the beholder. If you look at the quarterbacks that Coach has had, he hasn't had a bunch of guys that can run. He's been able to put together some good offenses with quarterbacks that can't run. It's a positive, but it's not a necessity."

The 49ers raised some eyebrows with the hiring of Kelly, who ended his controversial three-year tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles being let go after declining to give up control over personnel decisions while having several former players question his motives and personality. On the outside, it seemed a potentially awkward fit with Baalke, who had a strained relationship with former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.

The 49ers are not making Kelly available to the media this week, but Baalke said the two are off to a strong start in building a strong working relationship.

"It's like a marriage," Baalke said of the GM-coach relationship. "Yeah, it takes a while, it doesn't happen overnight. I've known Coach since he was at Oregon and I see no difference in him from when we were going in and recruiting his players.

"It's been awesome, he's been a lot of fun to work with. There hasn't been a lot of overlap, but we've had a lot of good discussions and I look forward to continuing those."

Baalke did not see the need to reach out to anyone with the Eagles to court feedback during the hiring process. He was aware of the various reports, but wanted to form his own opinion.

"I'm a huge believer in sitting down with someone and just talking and just figuring out if that relationship is going to work or not," Baalke said. "I knew what was out there and what was being said. But that really didn't play into our decisions at all, obviously."

A lot was made of Kelly jettisoning a number of valuable veterans in Philadelphia, gutting the roster of productive players in favor of people who fit his system. Kelly was known to give his scouts measurements he was looking for at specific positions.

Baalke insisted he is after the same quality as Kelly -- size.

"If you look at what his prototypes are, he's looking for the same things we're looking for -- big players," Baalke said. "That's part of what you're looking for when you go out and hire a head coach, do you have a philosophy that marries well."

That's all well and good in February, before free agency and the NFL Draft, when Baalke and Kelly will need to make critical decisions to shape a roster that is coming off a 5-11 season that landed the No. 7 overall pick. NFLDraftScout.com analysts Rob Rang and Dane Brugler both project the 49ers to tab Cal quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 7 overall pick in April.

"(Quarterbacks) come in all different shapes and sizes," Baalke said. "I don't know that you can pigeonhole any one position. We prefer big, but does that mean we're not going to make an exception? No.

"We're going to look at everyone that's available and put a value on them for what we think their value is for us."

--Baalke said running back Carlos Hyde has been working out in Miami with former teammate Frank Gore. Baalke said Hyde isn't "game ready" in his recovery from a foot injury that limited him to just even games last season, but added that "all indications are that it's healing very nicely."