By Jordan Long
Colin Kaepernick’s collusion grievance with the NFL has been settled. The amount is not announced and it may never be known. With that, Kaepernick would like to be on an NFL roster for 2019. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, named 3 teams that are potential landing spots. Those are the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and the Miami Dolphins. According to CBSsports.com, Geragos said, “I will tell you that besides the Panthers, it would not surprise me if [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft makes a move. It would not surprise me if his former coach … also makes a move.”
Kaepernick wouldn’t start on the Carolina Panthers or the New England Patriots. The Panthers are set with their franchise quarterback Cam Newton. Newton guided the Panthers to a 68-53-1 record in his 8-years as the starter and doesn’t have plans of slowing down. They have been to the playoffs 4 times. The Panthers make sense as a landing spot because of the play calling. Newton is a running quarterback and the Panthers use some form of the read-option which is what Kaepernick is familiar with.
The Panthers don’t have an experienced backup for Newton. Taylor Heinicke has appeared in 7 games in his 2 years in the NFL. In those games he passed for 330 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. The other quarterback on the roster is Kyle Allen who played in 2 games last season with a total of 266 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Kaepernick brings in 6 years of NFL knowledge to the Panthers. That would help him win the job over Allen and Heinicke. The difference though is Kaepernick hasn’t played a down of NFL football since 2016 , giving the edge to Allen and Heinicke.
The Patriots shouldn’t consider adding Kaepernick. Brady hasn’t decided if he is going to play in 2019 but he is most likely going to. Brady is aging and will be 42 once the season starts. The Patriots already have the backup to Brady, Brian Hoyer. Hoyer knows the Patriots’ system. Kaepernick would need to learn it and that may take some time. Kaepernick, at best, would be the 3rd quarterback on the roster assuming New England doesn’t bring in anyone else this offseason.
On this list, the Miami Dolphins make the most sense. They have a new coach in Brian Flores who is trying to rebuild this team to become a Super Bowl winner. Miami has Ryan Tannehill on the roster but he may not be there for long. There are reports Miami may trade or release him. That would leave the Dolphins without a veteran quarterback and Kaepernick fixes that problem.
This is all speculation at this point. Kaepernick may be on a roster when the season starts in September. The problem for him is what kind of football shape is he in. If he is the Kaepernick from 2016, then he will have a chance to be back in the NFL. If Kaepernick looks slow and isn’t understanding the play calls from the coaches, then this would be a waste.
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