Someone has to do the thing, right? Should I do the thing? I'm going to do the thing.
Colin Kaepernick wants to come back. If he winds up back in the NFL, I'd love to see him with my hometown Steelers.
The public perception of players kneeling appears to have changed. The majority now seem to understand that what Kaepernick was doing wasn't "disrespecting the American flag." The catalyst for the center now shifting was seeing George Floyd get murdered by a police officer while he begged for his life.
Roger Goodell released an 81 second video explaining that the NFL was wrong four years ago on the subject of peaceful player protests.
It's now or never for a team to sign Colin Kaepernick.
A quick aside...It doesn't take any courage for an owner to sign him now. It's still the right thing to do.
Sure, it's been three long years since Kaepernick threw an NFL pass. I still think he's better than most backup QB's in the league.
His last season as a starter saw the quarterback throw 16 TD's and 4 INT's. The only reason he isn't in the league is because cowardly owners were trying to protect their profit margins.
I imagine that he could help the Steelers. According to ESPN, Mason Rudolph had the worst QBR in football among qualified starters in 2019.
Devlin Hodges actually had an even worse QBR, but he didn't throw enough passes to qualify.
Kaepernick would be rusty. It's been three years since he was on an NFL roster, but would he really be worse than Hodges? No.
In fact, Kaepernick is the 4th best quarterback in NFL history (by interception percentage) at not throwing picks. Even if he wasn't the dynamic playmaker that he was back in the day, he'd still take care of the football.
Make no mistake, for years I've been banging the table for Kaepernick to get back to the NFL. If he's going to return, I'd love to see him do so for the Steelers.
Actually, I can't think of a better fit.
Yes, the team could probably use a competent backup or third string QB, but I'm talking about the bigger picture. The Rooney Rule is named for the late, great Dan Rooney. Mike Tomlin, a black man, has been doing a hell of a job as coach of the Steelers for 13 years.
The NFL has its own issues with systematic racism, but the Steelers organization has been better than most, if not all, of the teams in this regard.
If Kaep is going to play in the league this year, it makes sense that he do so with the Steelers.