Colin Kaepernick remains a free agent even after yet another NFL team found itself in need of a veteran quarterback, and the former general manager of that team is not surprised Kaepernick never received a call.
Earlier in the week, the Tennessee Titans decided to sign Brandon Weeden with Marcus Mariota nursing a hamstring injury. While co-hosting his radio show “Jared & The GM” on 102.5 The Game, ex-Titans GM Floyd Reese said the first reason Tennessee didn’t consider Kaepernick is he doesn’t fit the offensive scheme.
“Even though Marcus can run – you remember this, even his rookie year when we were talking about it, I said – the thing I really, really like about him is that when he starts to move … he is moving to throw. He is not moving to run,” Reese explained, as transcribed by Jason Wolf of The Tennesseean. “And I think with Kaepernick, when he moves, he’s moving to run. He’s out on the corner all the time. That’s where he’s comfortable. That’s probably where he’s best.
“He is not a pocket passer. Neither is RG3 (Robert Griffin III), and probably neither ever will be. And that’s what we’re looking for from Marcus. That’s what you’re looking for in an NFL quarterback. Pocket passer. Everything else is window dressing. If you’re a pocket passer, you’ve got a chance to be a quarterback.”
Reese added that Weeden can conform to whatever offense the Titans are running, whereas he feels the team would need to cater a specific scheme to Kaepernick. He also acknowledged that Kaepernick’s political views are a factor.
“You don’t want this circus. We just talked last week about how you thought Delanie Walker getting a death threat cost them the game,” Reese said. “Well, you can imagine what’s coming with this.”
And here we are again. Titans coach Mike Mularkey already said that Kaepernick wouldn’t be a fit for his team’s system, but it’s impossible to ignore the political aspects of the 29-year-old remaining unsigned — no matter what Jerry Jones wants us to believe. If not for the media attention Kaepernick would bring to a team, there would likely be more of a willingness to tweak some things for him.
