Landon Buford
It has been four seasons since we last saw former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, in the NFL. Kaepernick decided back in 2016 to take a knee during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and the killings of unarmed African Americans.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.
“To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s stance would later lead to him being benched and he eventually opted out of his contract with the 49ers. According to Business Insider, the Denver Broncos were interested in signing Kaepernick back in 2016, but wanted him to take a $4.9 million pay cut, which he would turn down.
There were reports that the Baltimore Ravens were interested in offering him a deal until Kaepernick’s girlfriend the host of the Talk Stoop on the USA Network, Nessa Diab compared Ravens’ legend Ray Lewis and owner Steve Bisciotti to characters from”Django Unchained” played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson.
Four years later, we are having the same conversation as George Floyd was killed by a former officer of the Minneapolis Police Department, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin placed his knee 犀利士 on Floyd’s neck while detaining him, and he wasn’t able to breathe correctly.
Last week as a guest on The Mike and Donny Show on Fox Soul TV, I shared how I could see Kaepernick ending up in Seattle as a backup quarterback to Russell Wilson since the Seahawks don’t currently have a veteran back up on their roster.
“I can see [Colin] Kaep [ernick] going to Seattle. I know Pete Carroll they brought him in, well, supposedly, they brought him in for a workout or them trying to attempt to bring in for a workout. And I know Pete Carroll talked about him a couple of days ago, and they do need a backup quarterback. So, they don’t have a veteran backup quarterback on the roster right now. So, I can possibly see him going to Seattle.”
Last week Pete Carroll was a host alongside Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on the “Flying Coach” podcast with San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich as their guest. During the episode, the trio discussed Kaepernick stances and how he still doesn’t have a job.
“I think that there was a moment in time that a young man captured. He took a stand on something — figuratively, he took a knee — but he stood up for something he believed in,” said Carroll. “And what an extraordinary moment it was that he was willing to take. I don’t know that he had any idea what the impact would be, as it turned out, but what a symbol of courage.”
“We’re not protecting our people,” Carroll added. “We’re not looking after one another. We’re not making the right choices. We’re not following the right process to bring people to justice when actions are taken. So I think it was a big sacrifice in the sense that a young man makes, but those are the courageous moments that some guys take.
“And we owe a tremendous amount to him for sure.”
犀利士However, during the episode, Carroll failed to mention any desire to sign the former Niners quarterback.
Earlier today, Pete Carroll mentioned that Kaepernick deserves to be a starter in the NFL, according to the Seattle Times, but likes Geno Smith in their back up position because of Russell Wilson’s durability.
“I love the way Geno fits together in a role and all that, so it’s not really available at this time for us,” said Carroll. “But I’ve said this ongoing for years if Russ [ell Wilson] ever got tangled up and couldn’t play or something that Kaep[ernick] would have been an extraordinary candidate to take over. We’re kind of set-up right now, so football-wise it doesn’t seem to fit is. But you know, there’s a lot of time here, we’ll see what happens.”
Wilson recently told reporters in a virtual interview, that Kaepernick could be on their roster when asked, but ultimated stated that is a Pete Carroll question.
“That’s a Pete (Carroll) question,” Wilson answered. “I think ultimately he could be on our roster for sure. He could do a lot of great things. He’s a really talented player, for sure.”
