Jed York, the 49ers’ owner, wants Colin Kaepernick to be a 49ers quarterback. That should not be news. But after events of the last week, it qualifies as such.

“All I can tell you,” York told me, “is that the last conversation I had with Kap was a good conversation. I asked how he was feeling. I hope he’s doing well. I care about his health and well-being because I think he can be a big piece of what we’re doing, going forward.”

Frankly, I am not sure how the ongoing Kaepernick reality show is going to end. I’m not certain that Kaepernick or the 49ers do, either.

But I know this much: The NFL, which does such a genius job of keeping itself in the news all 12 months of every year, must have loved events of this past week in Indianapolis at the scouting combine.

First, in the We-Really-Like-Kap microphone drill, new 49ers coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke both said they look forward to having Kaepernick on the roster after April 1 when his $11.9 million salary for 2016 becomes guaranteed.

Next, in the Not-So-Fast-You-Guys vertical jump, reports surfaced that Kaepernick is upset with the 49ers and wants to be traded.

Finally, in the Could-It-Happen shuttle drill, there was speculation that the 49ers might simply release Kaepernick on April 1. That way, they would avoid paying all that money to an allegedly discontented quarterback whose rehab from offseason surgery might not be complete by then, anyway.

We’ll see how the rest plays out. But the last option seems to be off the table. After all, the final authority on whether the 49ers will cut Kaepernick a check on April 1 is York. And that’s his intention.

“I think that it was very clear from Chip, from Trent and ultimately with my blessing to say that we’re more than comfortable paying Kap,” York said. “Because they want him here. Chip thinks he would be a great fit for our offense.”

So what was York’s reaction to the reports that Kaepernick’s people say he wants out?

“I haven’t talked to his people,” York said. “And I try to stay away from what the agents say. I know what our feeling is. We want Kap to be healthy. And we’d like to see Kap here.”

York and I spoke for almost an hour on Friday afternoon. He was generous with his time, and we covered a lot of ground: what York has learned from the mistakes he’s made, his relationship with Baalke, his thoughts on how Super Bowl 50 went at Levi’s Stadium, his uncle Eddie DeBartolo’s Hall of Fame induction, among other things.

Followers of the 49ers should read every word of the interview. (Yes, that’s a blatant plug.) Conveniently, there’s a full transcript in a series of posts on my World’s Smartest Stupid Sports Blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/purdy.

Of course, the hottest topic of the last few days has been the Kaepernick situation. So those are the York quotes/answers that I will cite here. Technically, under NFL rules, the 49ers can deny Kaepernick’s camp the right to call other teams and discuss potential trades. But York isn’t naive.

“I think there’s so much tampering that takes place — which the NFL has kind of taken the governor off of, a little bit — in terms of what they allow to happen in Indianapolis,” York said. “So would it shock me that people are talking? It wouldn’t shock me. … I’ve been around the NFL long enough to know that you don’t need to grant agents permission to make phone calls. But again, we’re not actively doing anything. I can’t stop somebody from reaching out. But our opinion is, we’d like Kap to be here. And I think when you look at what Chip’s offensive philosophy is, I think Kap is a very good fit for that. I think Chip has said that. We expect Kap to be here.”

And by “here,” York means the roster for the 2016 season?

“Absolutely,” York said. “But I’m not personally going to get into, ‘Who’s playing and what are they doing?’ That’s just not my place.”

When was that last conversation between York and Kaepernick?

“I can’t remember the exact day,” York said. “But it was one of the days right after Chip got hired and was here. Kap was in the building — I don’t know if it was rehab-related, or what. But he was in the building and I think he spent some time with Chip, whatever day that was, shortly after Chip was hired. And I saw Kap, we caught up a little bit. … I always have good conversations with Kap. I think I’ve been very clear what my feelings are on Kap. He’s been a great player for us.”

As a public service, this is where I interject that just because Kelly and Baalke and York say that they’d like Kaepernick to be a 49ers quarterback when training camp opens, it doesn’t mean that he will be a 49ers quarterback when training camp opens.

Here’s why: The strategy to pick up Kaepernick’s option, expensive as that might be, could simply be about keeping him around as an asset that could be traded later. The 49ers might not receive much in return. But it would be better than nothing, which is what they would receive if they don’t pick up the option. If he’s released April 1, Kaepernick could sign anywhere as a free agent — including the Los Angeles Rams, a division rival. That would be quite a bad look. By retaining Kaepernick’s rights, the 49ers can control whatever happens to him for the next 12 months. Kaepernick might not like that. But he signed the deal. And he’ll be rich no matter what happens.

With that disclaimer aside, I will take the 49ers’ love for Kaepernick at face value until proved otherwise. It sounds as if Kelly really wants to see No. 7 compete for the quarterback job. But a bigger issue is what’s led to Kaepernick’s disgruntlement in the first place. There’s a belief that he thinks some people in the 49ers’ building weren’t supportive of him or lied to him — although Kaepernick has never publicly said so. If he feels that way, he should man up and say so. Otherwise, just like every other Silicon Valley workplace, gossip and leaks will continue to percolate.

York’s final thoughts on the subject?

“Anytime that you’re a 5-11 team and you don’t get to your expectations, I think it’s frustrating,” he said. “Everybody underperformed last year, from me all the way down to the bottom of the organization. I think Kap will tell you that he’s had better seasons and, statistically, you can look and see that he’s had better seasons … And I’ve said this very clearly, at Chip’s introductory press conference and at the end of the year: This is a fresh slate for everybody … I think we have a great coach that has an offensive mind who can work very well with Kap and a lot of other offensive players.”

One more month until the April 1 deadline. Don’t touch that dial.

Read Mark Purdy’s blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/purdy. Contact him at mpurdy@mercurynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MercPurdy.