This isn't a story about Xs and Os.

This is a writeup about reports and rumors.

On Sunday morning, Fox Sports analyst Jay Glazer reported that Colin Kaepernick is "on an island" in the San Francisco 49ers locker room.
*
*Three days later, the fifth-year signal-caller, his head coach and teammates were all asked to respond to the comments that have generated discussion around the league.

"Reports don't bother me," Kaepernick said from the podium inside of Levi's® Stadium to room full of Bay Area scribes. "My relationship with my teammates is great. That's all I'm worried about. What the perspective is outside the locker room really has nothing to do with me or this team."

Speculation about Kaepernick's relationship with his receivers and offensive teammates has been one of the many off-the-field stories surrounding this year's 49ers team. The club held a team meeting after Week 4 to address team-wide communications. The offense, in particular, adjusted meeting schedules to allow for more back-and-forth between position groups.

By all accounts, that open dialogue has included Kaepernick.

"First of all, our locker room is straight," free-agent addition Torrey Smith said. "Everyone is in here fighting for each other, and we all want to win. There's no secret to it. We all want each other to be successful."

"Kap isn't on a damn island or whatever someone says," Smith added. "We're here together. We're trying to win together."

At 2-5 and three games out of first place in a competitive NFC West division, San Francisco's head coach publically recognized that national stories of discord frequently happen when a team is losing. The scrutiny is magnified in regards to the franchise quarterback, according to Tomsula.

"There's always something," Tomsula said. "I guess that's what goes on when you're the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers."

To his credit, Kaepernick answered every challenging question in his weekly pregame press conference. Topics ranged from his relationships with teammates, to how he's handling the commentary from the national media.

"I have a great relationship with my teammates," Kaepernick reiterated in discussing Glazer's report. "To me, that's a situation that I don't know what the agenda is saying that or what the credibility of that source is. I have a great relationship with my teammates and I'll leave it at that."

Blaine Gabbert, San Francisco's backup quarterback, who has a locker room stall next to Kaepernick, expressed his disappointment with how San Francisco's locker room chemistry has been portrayed in the media.

"I think people are trying to find something that's causing turmoil within this team, but the rumors don't need to be spread," Gabbert said. "They are not true. That's all there really is to say about it.

"To really spend any time on that, it's pointless."

As Gabbert alluded to, the 49ers are putting their focus on their next opponent, a 3-3 St. Louis Rams club that defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals to earn a perfect 2-0 start in the division.

Kaepernick's focus this week, as he said, is on fixing previous on-field problems and finding ways to win games in the final nine weeks of the regular season.

"All of our efforts in the past and moving forward are going to continue to reflect that," he said.

Kaepernick pointed to himself as someone who can do more to help San Francisco pick up a much-needed road victory. The 49ers have lost five consecutive road games dating back to last season, but have won two straight games in the Edward Jones Dome.

"I would say that I have to take it to another level," Kaepernick said. "I have to be able to make plays for this team and I have to be a difference maker when I step on the field."

As for the on-field news pertaining to San Francisco's quarterback, Kaepernick's swollen right thumb, which he banged up in a Week 7 loss to the Seahawks, showed no signs of damage. The X-rays were negative.

So there's that news, too.

Colin Kaepernick, Teammates Dismiss Reports of Locker Room Dissension

This isn't a story about Xs and Os.

This is a writeup about reports and rumors.

On Sunday morning, Fox Sports analyst Jay Glazer reported that Colin Kaepernick is "on an island" in the San Francisco 49ers locker room.
*
*Three days later, the fifth-year signal-caller, his head coach and teammates were all asked to respond to the comments that have generated discussion around the league.

"Reports don't bother me," Kaepernick said from the podium inside of Levi's® Stadium to room full of Bay Area scribes. "My relationship with my teammates is great. That's all I'm worried about. What the perspective is outside the locker room really has nothing to do with me or this team."

Speculation about Kaepernick's relationship with his receivers and offensive teammates has been one of the many off-the-field stories surrounding this year's 49ers team. The club held a team meeting after Week 4 to address team-wide communications. The offense, in particular, adjusted meeting schedules to allow for more back-and-forth between position groups.

By all accounts, that open dialogue has included Kaepernick.

"First of all, our locker room is straight," free-agent addition Torrey Smith said. "Everyone is in here fighting for each other, and we all want to win. There's no secret to it. We all want each other to be successful."

"Kap isn't on a damn island or whatever someone says," Smith added. "We're here together. We're trying to win together."

At 2-5 and three games out of first place in a competitive NFC West division, San Francisco's head coach publically recognized that national stories of discord frequently happen when a team is losing. The scrutiny is magnified in regards to the franchise quarterback, according to Tomsula.

"There's always something," Tomsula said. "I guess that's what goes on when you're the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers."

To his credit, Kaepernick answered every challenging question in his weekly pregame press conference. Topics ranged from his relationships with teammates, to how he's handling the commentary from the national media.

"I have a great relationship with my teammates," Kaepernick reiterated in discussing Glazer's report. "To me, that's a situation that I don't know what the agenda is saying that or what the credibility of that source is. I have a great relationship with my teammates and I'll leave it at that."

Blaine Gabbert, San Francisco's backup quarterback, who has a locker room stall next to Kaepernick, expressed his disappointment with how San Francisco's locker room chemistry has been portrayed in the media.

"I think people are trying to find something that's causing turmoil within this team, but the rumors don't need to be spread," Gabbert said. "They are not true. That's all there really is to say about it.

"To really spend any time on that, it's pointless."

As Gabbert alluded to, the 49ers are putting their focus on their next opponent, a 3-3 St. Louis Rams club that defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals to earn a perfect 2-0 start in the division.

Kaepernick's focus this week, as he said, is on fixing previous on-field problems and finding ways to win games in the final nine weeks of the regular season.

"All of our efforts in the past and moving forward are going to continue to reflect that," he said.

Kaepernick pointed to himself as someone who can do more to help San Francisco pick up a much-needed road victory. The 49ers have lost five consecutive road games dating back to last season, but have won two straight games in the Edward Jones Dome.

"I would say that I have to take it to another level," Kaepernick said. "I have to be able to make plays for this team and I have to be a difference maker when I step on the field."

As for the on-field news pertaining to San Francisco's quarterback, Kaepernick's swollen right thumb, which he banged up in a Week 7 loss to the Seahawks, showed no signs of damage. The X-rays were negative.

So there's that news, too.