A lot of people feel that Colin Kaepernick took too much heat for wearing a Miami Dolphins hat a couple weeks ago, but at least one of his San Francisco 49ers teammates thought the criticism was well-deserved. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who at age 25 is a young player in the league like Kaepernick, said it was a bonehead move.

“This is a huge mistake by Kaep,” Bowman told the NFL Network, via Around the League. “I’m sure he understands that now. In his defense, we’re young, in our era these days we like to match our snapbacks with our outfits.”

Kaepernick made no apologies for wearing the hat and even called out his fans for being upset over it. He later tried to make up for it by wearing his Niners gear loud and proud, but most fans think their quarterback wearing his own team’s colors should be a given.

“The hats now these days are very important to the outfit, so Kaep I understand what you did, but let’s stay away from the NFL teams,” Bowman added. “Stick to NBA, go to college or the baseball hats.”

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, who appeared on the same “NFL Total Access” segment, said the general rule is “you stick to baseball or hockey or whatever” to avoid meaningless controversies like this one. The Miami Marlins may stink, but their colors are similar to the Dolphins’ colors. Marlins gear would match Kaepernick’s outfits just the same, and it probably wouldn’t infuriate his fans.

No harm, no foul, as they say. Just don’t do it again, Colin. Even your own teammates realize how much of a no-no that is.