It doesn’t matter that Colin Kaepernick is an intensely polarizing figure or that he hasn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game in five years. Kurt Warner believes he should get another chance to play in the NFL.
TMZ Sports recently interviewed the Super Bowl champ and Hall of Famer at LAX.
“I do,” Warner responded when asked if Kaepernick should get another shot. “I think that he should have an opportunity.”
Kaepernick last threw a pass in the NFL at the end of the 2016 season. Not coincidentally, the same season, he began kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
“When he got out of the game,” Warner said of Kaepernick, “he was as good as a lot of quarterbacks in this league. And, that’s the bottom line.”
The issue of Kaepernick re-joining the league has resurfaced amid news that Tim Tebow has signed a one-year deal to play for Jacksonville. That news prompted many to ask why Tebow should be getting another opportunity while Kaepernick remains sidelined.
However, as far as Warner sees it, the two situations don’t necessarily have anything to do with each other.
“I believe Colin should have had or should have another opportunity,” Warner concluded.
Warner’s point about Kaepernick being “as good as a lot of quarterbacks in this league” when he last played has some merit. Despite being benched at the beginning of the 2016 season, Kaepernick did complete the year with a respectable 16 TD’s, 4 interceptions, and a QB rating of 90.7.
However, as is always the case with controversial athletes or entertainers, merely being good enough is not good enough. The reward the performer offers has to greatly outweigh the risks involved. Otherwise, the risk is not worth the reward of signing the player.
While Kaepernick has some ability, the biggest thing he ever did on the football field was to kneel, and that’s just a losing equation for anyone who would ever want to sign him.