The Washington Redskins have a quarterback problem, and Colin Kaepernick is a free-agent quarterback just waiting for someone to sign him.
According to Redskins head coach Jay Gruden, the team “talked about and discussed” signing Kaepernick after Colt McCoy became the second Redskins quarterback to break a leg this season.
Kaepernick is well known outside the sport for exercising his First Amendment rights by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of social injustices faced by minorities. Kaepernick has an ongoing collusion grievance filed against the National Football League, accusing NFL owners of deciding collectively to deny him an opportunity to play in the league because of his protest.
“There’s not a lot of time to get a brand new quarterback and a system installed and taught in a couple of days,” Gruden said in a conference call Tuesday. “He has been talked about and discussed for sure, but we will probably go in a different direction. It’s about evaluating the skill set. If it was Week 1, there would be a better possibility.”
Starting QB Alex Smith broke his leg last month and McCoy was injected as the starter while former New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez was brought on to back McCoy up. The problem now for the team is that since Smith broke is leg, they have lost three straight games and relinquished the division lead to the surging Dallas Cowboys.
At the time, there were increased reports of unarmed black men being shot and killed by police. Nike selected Kaepernick as the latest face for their “Just Do It” campaign.
