According to a report this week, NFL executives and coaches are still not feeling hot on Colin Kaepernick, but not because of his protest of the national anthem.
Three NFL executives and a coach spoke to Sports Illustrated anonymously, and shared what they really felt about the unemployed NFL quarterback who made headlines a year ago for taking a knee during the pre-game national anthem in an effort to raise awareness for police brutality against African Americans.
Recommended Stories
Liberals and a growing number of players have come out to bat for Kap as job prospects in the NFL withered away. They feel that he’s not employed because of his commitment to social justice, however, one NFL executive refuted this with a particularly brutal critique of Kaepernick’s style of play.
“I don’t like the guy as a player. I don’t think he can play. I didn’t think he could play at Reno, I don’t think he can play now,” the executive said. “You don’t think if he was a good player, 20 teams would be lining up? … He’s inaccurate, inconsistent reading defenses. He needs everything to be perfect around him, and he needs to run a certain offense. When he was rolling, they had an unbelievable defense and a great running game with an amazing offensive line. Everything was perfect. And you consider that, why isn’t there a debate about RG3 [Robert Griffin III]? He just wasn’t a consideration.”
Another executive said the national anthem protest was a non-issue.
“From our end, it never got down to [going to the owner]. To me, the protests, all that, it wasn’t even a factor for us. It was the ability to fit within our offense. He doesn’t throw the ball great, he’s more of an on-the-move, zone-read type of quarterback,” the executive explained. “He needs to be in a specific system. For us, it was a system thing. What he does well is totally outside what most teams do. And so here’s my question: I understand the Kaepernick deal, why it’s news, but nobody’s talking about RG3? I know since it’s Kaepernick, it’s what sells, but the problem that RG3 has getting a job is the same as Kaepernick for a lot of teams.”
Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers to become a free agent. In light of a few teams visits but no offers, Kap plans to continue his social justice advocacy whether he ever plays in the NFL or not.
