Things have changed a lot in the NFL over the past month. Back at the beginning of May, everybody was certain Colin Kaepernick would never play another down of professional football. This due to a league-wide blackballing over the firestorm of controversy he kicked up back in 2016 when he knelt during games to protest police brutality. Undoubtedly the league hoped by doing that the media attention would die down. For a time they were right.
Then the George Floyd killing happened. The black was seen being suffocated by Minnesota police and suddenly everything Kaepernick was fighting against became relevant like never before. It’s gotten to a point where Commissioner Roger Goodell has urged teams to give the QB an opportunity. There is even an undercurrent of growing belief that it will happen. It is a matter of which team finally pulls the trigger.
Mike Sando of The Athletic explored those possibilities. While teams like Jacksonville, Buffalo, and Carolina made the most sense to him, he pointed out that the Chicago Bears are also one that should consider making that move.
“Nick Foles is backing up Mitch Trubisky. Giving Trubisky one final look in 2020 is a defensible decision entering his fourth season. Replacing Trubisky with Kaepernick would also be defensible, and arguably preferable, though it seems unlikely. Trubisky has $4.4 million in guaranteed salary this season.”
The Bears could give Colin Kaepernick a platform, but would they?
To their credit, the Bears were out front of this Floyd issue almost from the jump. They allowed players to air their grievances during a team meeting. This while releasing a strong statement on the killing. George McCaskey was also the first owner to speak out publicly in favor of change, doing a video with known advocate Sam Acho. So the idea of adding Kaepernick doesn’t seem like something they’d be against on philosophical reasons.
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The veteran QB could certainly do a lot of good using the far reach of the Chicago media market to his advantage. He’s always had talent and took a team to the Super Bowl once upon a time. Is it so crazy?
No, but in truth, the Bears have no reason to feel a need to do it. Signing him would be mostly a publicity stunt. Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky will be the starter in 2020 and the other should serve as a capable enough backup. Head coach Matt Nagy doesn’t carry three quarterbacks on the roster. So he’d have to make an exception for Kaepernick or the team would have to trade Trubisky. Neither seems likely.