Report: Kaepernick's Camp Getting Aggressive After Spate of QB Injuries Hits NFL
Former San Francisco 49ers signal-caller and national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick reportedly is having his agent reach out to teams in need of help at the quarterback position.
The 2018 NFL season already has seen multiple starting quarterbacks go down due to injury, not including former Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck, who abruptly retired prior to the start of the year.
In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees could be out of commission for weeks and the Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton could miss Sunday’s game after they suffered injuries in Week 2.
In the AFC, meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Nick Foles, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and the New York Jets’ Sam Darnold are all on the shelf as well.
As if one quarterback being out wasn’t enough, Jets backup quarterback Trevor Siemian was injured during Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns and will miss the remainder of the season.
All this to say that there are certainly teams out there in need of a quarterback.
So could Kaepernick fill one of those voids?
Well, that’s where things get dicey. But Kaepernick himself reportedly thinks he’s up to the task.
“Colin is literally in the best shape of his life. He’s been working out 5 days a week at 5 am for 3 years,” a source described as being “close to” Kaepernick told SNY’s Chris Williamson.
Source close to @Kaepernick7 in light of all the QB injuries: “Colin is literally in the best shape of his life. He’s been working out 5 days a week at 5 am for 3 years. He wants to play and his agent has been contacting teams in need of a QB.”
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) September 17, 2019
“He wants to play and his agent has been contacting teams in need of a QB,” the source added.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported Tuesday that Kaepernick’s camp has reached out to the Steelers, Saints and Jets, but to no avail.
“I am being told that he has contacted — Colin Kaepernick’s agent and others — have contacted the Pittsburgh Steelers. Essentially they’re not interested,” Smith said. Pittsburgh signed former Denver Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch to its practice squad Tuesday.
“They’ve contacted the Jets, no word on them yet,” the ESPN host continued. “They’ve contacted the Saints. They didn’t get their phone calls returned.”
Kaepernick has made no secret of his desire to return to the NFL, posting videos to social media that show him working out and practicing.
From putting in work predraft, to staying ready against the odds! Love to my Brother @obj – #StillReady
?: @REL @djtonedef @GaryNgUSC pic.twitter.com/mcSCn8vpHE
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 4, 2019
But any team thinking about signing Kaepernick has to consider the controversy that surrounds him.
Kaepernick, of course, became a very divisive figure when he knelt for the pregame playing of the national anthem during the 2016 season. Other players around the NFL followed his lead, and the league’s television ratings took a hit as many viewers were turned off by the demonstrations.
To many teams, it’s entirely possible that signing a 31-year-old quarterback who has accuracy issues and whose strength was always his speed just isn’t worth the inevitable distraction.
Only time will tell.
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