Many people believe that Colin Kaepernick remains a free agent because of his political beliefs, while others feel he simply isn’t a good enough quarterback to be on an NFL roster. For LeSean McCoy, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
When asked about the Kaepernick situation on Thursday, McCoy told reporters he believes Kaepernick’s national anthem protest has played a role in the 29-year-old not being signed. But McCoy also thinks Kaepernick would have a job by now if he were a better player.
LeSean McCoy on Kaepernick: I think his situation is not good enough to have him on the team with all the attention that comes along with it pic.twitter.com/HrvfgeNsBP
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) August 24, 2017
“As a player, there’s certain players that can be on a team with big distractions, and other players, they’re not good enough that it’s worth it,” McCoy said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I think his situation is, not good enough to have on a team with all the attention that comes along with it. I’m sure if a guy like (Tom) Brady or a guy like — whoever is your favorite player, Odell Beckham or a guy like that — you’ll deal with that attention and play him. With certain guys, it’s not worth it.”
McCoy’s opinion is similar to the one we have been sharing all along. While Kaepernick might be good enough to start for some teams, the majority of teams would only have interest in him as a backup. Whether coaches and executives agree with his political stances or not, most don’t want a media circus surrounding their second-string quarterback.
We’ve heard some other theories about why Kaepernick hasn’t been signed, but McCoy probably hit the nail on the head. If teams felt strongly enough about Kaepernick as a player, they’d deal with any added attention he may bring and support him along the way.
