At long last, there appears to be a perfect opening that could bring Colin Kaepernick back into the NFL: suiting up for his old team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Makes perfect sense, right?

With the 49ers now fearing their starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, tore the ACL in his left knee Sunday, one couldn’t help but recall the words of 49ers GM John Lynch. In March 2017, after Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers, Lynch said the team had not ruled out a reunion.

"We left that door open in a very real and positive way," Lynch said at the time.

Would the 49ers fan base be open to Kaepernick’s return considering he led them to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013?

Or would they remember he lost 20 of his last 24 starts?

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So here are five reasons why Lynch bringing back Kaepernick is a long shot:

1. When Lynch made the reunion comment, the team had no quarterbacks on the roster. When the 49ers drafted C.J. Beathard and signed Brian Hoyer, it was a signal the team was ready to move on. Likely for good.

2. Kaepernick had not filed his collusion lawsuit against the NFL, and it’s still unclear if he’s more committed to winning that case than resuming his career -- and if those two things are mutually exclusive.

3. Kaepernick is a bad fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense because Kaepernick showed little development as a pocket passer and regressed after the 2013 Super Bowl, has completed less than 60 percent of his passes, struggles to get past his first read and, despite a great arm, has suspect touch.

4. Lynch has said the 49ers planned to release Kaepernick after the 2016 season if the quarterback did not opt out of his contract. Though the contract terms were a significant sticking point, he did not appear to figure into their plans regardless.

5. It’s virtually a given Kaepernick would not have interest backing up an unproven player like Beathard – and he probably won’t have the chance to even consider it. Shanahan said Sunday he does not anticipate signing a veteran quarterback.