SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers unveiled the franchise’s first alternate jersey to the players who lobbied for the change.
The team’s alternate jersey, which can be worn up to two games per season, looks a lot like what quarterback Colin Kaepernick has fashioned on the practice field since August 2013.
The jersey, which the 49ers displayed on their Snapchat account, is black with red numbers. The new uniform, including black pants, was shown to the team after Thursday morning practice on the final day of a voluntary three-day minicamp.
Several players asked the organization for the all-black jersey tops. When asked two years ago about wearing a different jersey during practice, Kaepernick was not all that thrilled.
“Not a fan of the jersey,” Kaepernick said. (It's assumed he meant he was not a fan of being singled out, as opposed to the attractiveness of the practice jersey.)
Then-coach Jim Harbaugh ordered Kaepernick to begin wearing a different jersey to re-emphasize his hands-off policy on the quarterback for defensive players. The tipping point, Harbaugh said, was when Ahmad Brooks got a little too close to Kaepernick during a training camp practice.
"And (I) felt like as the defense was running a stunt, and Ahmad came free and was a little too close to Colin," Harbaugh said. "So (the jersey is) a way to re-emphasize to stay away from Colin Kaepernick, so we don't get anything freakish happen in practice."
Introducing the first alternate uniform in team history. #49ersRGB
http://t.co/LqWbZcA2Mm pic.twitter.com/sSfLHO3DFN
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) May 1, 2015