Kaepernick's star fades as 49ers slip to 2-5

(Reuters) - Colin Kaepernick was one of the NFL's brightest young stars when he led San Francisco to the Super Bowl game in 2013 but his status as one of the league's elite quarterbacks has been tarnished this season as the 49ers slipped to 2-5. After Thursday's 20-3 defeat to Seattle, Kaepernick, who completed 13 of 24 passes for just 124 yards, defended his performance, saying some of the incompletions were intentional due to pressure and field position. “A couple of those were throwaways. I’m not going to force the ball into a window, especially when we’re in a backed up situation,” he said. “We just didn’t play well enough.” Through seven games, the 27-year-old has thrown just six touchdowns with five interceptions. There are occasional glimpses of his rocket arm, laser accuracy and blistering speed, but more often it is followed by sloppy play. Kaepernick was expected to be the team’s long-time franchise player when he became starting quarterback during the 2012 season. The 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl that season, where they lost to Baltimore, and reached the NFC Championship game the following year, where Kaepernick went head to head with Seattle’s Russell Wilson. San Francisco parted ways with coach Jim Harbaugh following an 8-8 campaign in 2014 and lost several key players. Jim Tomsula, brought in to replace Harbaugh, has struggled to get the right mix on the field with Kaepernick seemingly on a different wavelength to his receivers. In his defense, the 49ers offensive line is offering him little protection. “We’ve got to get our protection. We obviously can’t operate without protection,” Tomsula said following Thursday’s defeat that saw Kaepernick sacked six times. “There were a couple balls that I’m sure (Kaepernick) wants back.” Probably more than a couple. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)