Try and leave your non-football beliefs at the door for a moment and consider Colin Kaepernick suiting up for the New York Jets.
The veteran quarterback hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2016 after the combination of a down season with the San Francisco 49ers that included injuries, a trade request, and his national-anthem protest.
In fact, his last two years in the NFL doesn’t necessarily offer much promise. In 21 games, he completed 59-percent of his passes for 3,856 yards with a starter’s record of 3-16. However, he threw 22 touchdowns compared to just nine interceptions during that span while adding 724 rushing yards.
It continued the trend of the now-31-year-old exhibiting an ability to take care of the football. In six NFL seasons, he threw 72 touchdowns and just 30 interceptions.
There was a time when Kaepernick was considered one of the most explosive quarterbacks in football, bursting onto the scene in 2012 and leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance.
In the two lone seasons in which he played all 16 games, he put up 40 touchdowns and 18 interceptions while averaging 3,283 passing yards per year.
And still, he hasn’t found a job in the NFL. You can speculate as to why. This writer will do no such thing.
There is no disputing that the Jets and their offense is currently in shambles.
Sam Darnold is out indefinitely with mono, Trevor Siemian — who hurt his ankle against the Browns on Monday night — is out for the season, and Luke Falk did little to add a spark off the bench in a 23-3 loss.
As of now, it feels as though the Jets are lambs being led to the slaughter with the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys all on-deck for the 0-2 franchise.
The Jets need another quarterback and an offensive playmaking spark outside of Le’Veon Bell and Kaepernick could be a low-risk, high-reward option.
As a dual-threat passer, coupling plus athleticism with a strong arm, Kaepernick has the tools to get the most out of the Jets offense in their current situation.
A mobile quarterback is needed behind a horrendous offensive line to extend the play and give a questionable receiving group time to get open.
Kaepernick can probably do that better than Siemian, Falk, or any other available quarterback on the market right now.
He doesn’t need to be a superstar or a Pro Bowler. He just has to keep the Jets afloat while Darnold recovers.
And while the move will be met with mixed feelings from the Jets fan base, think of it this way:
Either he gets the job done, holds down the fort until Darnold returns, and the Jets helped prove that Kaepernick still has something left in the tank or he gets bombarded and his detractors can say “I told you so” all along.
