Colin Kaepernick’s name has been thrust into national conversations again recently, as people take to the streets to protest police brutality and racial inequality following the murder of George Floyd.
Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, hasn’t played a snap in the NFL since bringing attention to the same issues in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem. His absence from the league has been debated in the years since, but after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s admission that the league was wrong for not previously listening to its players on matters of social justice, people are again calling for a team to hire the former signal caller.
The subject was again broached Friday when former Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, the team's senior VP of player development, joined “The Dan Patrick Show.” Patrick asked whether the Redskins had considered signing Kaepernick in the past. Williams said the conversation never came up, likely due to the city the team represents.
“I think what happened here, we’re in a heavily, heavily military area,” Williams said. “And I think the guy that sits on Pennsylvania Avenue -- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- made such a big stink of it, the fans in this area... might’ve been a tough situation for both the team and [Kaepernick].”
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Williams is referring to President Donald Trump, who at a rally in 2017 called for NFL owners to ‘get that son of a b----’ off the field, referring to players peacefully protesting.
“You don’t want to bring people into a situation where nobody is going to be happy,” Williams said. “I think that’s probably what happened, why he didn’t come up during that time.”
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But while Williams could see how Washington may not be the ideal landing spot, he agreed with his interviewer that Kansas City could be a good option. Patrick said he thinks the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs under coach Andy Reid would be the best situation for Kaepernick.
“Andy Reid just won a Super Bowl,” Patrick said. “He brought in Michael Vick after he went to prison. You got the most secure position in football with Patrick Mahomes. And you could bring [Kaepernick] in as a backup quarterback just to get him back in the game. And then maybe he gets a fair shot with somebody after that.”
Williams responded by speaking glowingly about Reid, and recalled a time he asked the former Eagles coach why he decided to give Vick a second chance.
“He told me, he was as real as real can get; he had two sons, and they had gotten in a little trouble,” Williams said. “He said, ‘hey, my son got in trouble.’ He said, ‘everybody deserves a second chance.’ And you know what, that was good enough for me. And I think if anybody could stomach that and handle Kaepernick and mentor him and understand where he’s coming from, it would be Andy Reid.”
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