Channel 7 drops 49ers game after Hayne axed

AUSSIE NFL fans missed out on a surprisingly entertaining 49ers win after Channel 7’s decision to axe San Francisco games.

49ers drop Hayne, Seven drops Niners

IT appears to be a case of no Jarryd Hayne, no San Francisco 49ers on Channel 7 for the remainder of the NFL season.

The network had been screening every 49ers game this season (apart from the Friday and Tuesday games owned by ESPN) but instead chose to show the Denver Broncos trip to play the Indianapolis Colts in the 8.25am timeslot on Monday morning (AEDT).

San Francisco has been pretty hard to watch this season with or without the Aussie rugby league convert, so it was no great surprise Seven opted for Peyton Manning’s visit to the city he became an NFL legend.

The decision was justified as the Broncos and Colts game went down to the wire, but the 49ers also produced a surprisingly entertaining win against the Atlanta Falcons at Levi’s Stadium.

Back-up quarterback Blaine Gabbert — who replaced Colin Kaepernick this week — produced enough on offence in the first half for the Niners defence to hang on for a 17-16 win.

And a Jarryd Hayne sighting....with Dylan Thompson and Shaun Draughn. #ATLvsSF pic.twitter.com/3rNFF8BwUX

— Jennifer Chan (@jenniferleechan) November 8, 2015

Whether Seven continues to look elsewhere for its slate of games on Monday mornings remains to be seen.

Hayne looks set to spend the remainder of the season on the practice squad unless more of his teammates are struck down by injury.

Hayne wasn’t picked for the 49ers this week despite favoured punt returner Reggie Bush and star running back Carlos Hyde remaining on the injured list.

The 49ers recently signed 30-year-old Pierre Thomas and 27-year-old Shaun Draughn, who received the bulk of the carries against the Falcons.

Before today’s game San Francisco announced Kendall Gaskins — the player who was elevated from the practice squad in place of Hayne before last week’s game against St Louis — would start at running back. But it was Draughn who had the first carry and finished with 58 yards from 16 attempts.

Tomsula said Wednesday that he benched Kaepernick because “I want Colin to step back and breathe and look at things through a different lens.”

Reporters asked Kaepernick on Friday whether he agreed with Tomsula’s assessment, and he didn’t seem to agree with the coach. “I’m not out of breath, so I don’t understand that reference,” Kaepernick said.

“I don’t believe in pressure. Pressure is not being prepared for what you want to do. To me, I’ve played full seasons and had success. Mentally, I’ve been through it before. I’m not incapable of going through this.”

The fractured relationship between Kaepernick and the coaching staff is a signal the quarterback won’t be in San Francisco next season, according to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora.

“The benching of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick this week has only heightened the frayed relationship between him and the upper management of the team and created a climate in which it is virtually certain he is not back in San Francisco in 2016, according to team and league sources,” La Canfora wrote.

“Trust between the player — viewed as a franchise quarterback and potential superstar when leading the team to the Super Bowl just three years ago — and the organisation has eroded to the point where any cosmetic attempts to rebuild bridges are essentially a lost cause, and the prospect of Kaepernick actually playing there next season are viewed as a non-starter.

“Kaepernick has not asked for a trade, though the 49ers were among the clubs who were open to dealing pretty much anyone on their roster before Tuesday’s deadline, including their quarterback, according to league sources. His benching this week, for Blaine Gabbert, has further polarised the locker room, sources said, and several of Kaepernick’s teammates believe he would ask for a trade or his release rather than stay with the 49ers next year.”

— with AAP

Originally published as Channel 7 drops 49ers game after Hayne axed