Jerry Rice: Bench Colin Kaepernick ... But Not For Good

Jerry Rice has a solution for the 49ers' woes this season ... BENCHING COLIN KAEPERNICK ... saying giving the QB some temporary pine time might be just the wake up call he needs.

Look, it's no secret Kaep isn't playing his best ball -- and with the 49ers nursing a 2-5 record, something needs to be done to get the team back on track.

Jerry made it crystal clear he SUPPORTS Colin and still thinks he's incredibly talented -- but says something drastic needs to happen if there's any hope of saving the season.

"I am a true Kaepernick fan. 100%. I'm not saying bench him for the season, but sometimes you gotta shake things up. It could energize the team, and provide Colin the spark he needs."

Rice says he knows from experience that Kaep needs support from the vets to break out of his funk.

"Look, when I came in, I struggled. I dropped balls. And I wasn't used to that. But I had great people around me, and I got through it."

Overall, Rice says ... you can't just point the finger at #7, everyone needs to step up their game.

"The 9'ers aren't a cohesive group right now. They're making way too many mistakes. It's not only Kaepernick, there's plenty of blame to go around."