Is Colin Kaepernick an answer at quarterback for the New England Patriots?
With the New England Patriots set to insert a new starting quarterback into the offense during the 2020 NFL season following the departure of longtime Patriot Tom Brady via free agency, there have been many questions surrounding who exactly that player will be. And perhaps Colin Kaepernick should be added to that equation.
One option on the Patriots roster, and perhaps the leading option at the current moment, is starting second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham in that role to take over for Brady. New England head coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the coaching staff have appeared to be very high on Stidham, who served as Brady’s backup in 2019, when it comes to potentially taking over the offense this year and beyond.
The second option on the roster could be veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, who the Patriots signed this offseason to add to the quarterback room and give Stidham some competition for the starting job under center.
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But the third option of looking outside of the organization for a quarterback is still an option, although an unlikely one at the current moment, for the Patriots. Although one intriguing name on the market is former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, another veteran player that might be worth checking out hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. That being former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The possible return of Colin Kaepernick and how the New England Patriots fit.
Last week, Kaepernick’s name was initially brought back up once again following the current topic of social injustice throughout the country and Kaepernick’s dedication to raising awareness surrounding that topic over the years.
His name also began gaining some steam in the public eye more recently when Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the media he regrets not signing Kaepernick back in 2017, per ESPN, adding he received a phone call earlier in the day from another team asking about Kaepernick. Carroll said he the impression at least one NFL team is currently interested in the quarterback.
Could that team be New England? Would Belichick and the Patriots bring in Kaepernick to take things over on the offensive side of the ball for at least the 2020 campaign? There’s plenty of intrigue in the thought of that happening.
It’s hard to tell exactly how fast Kaepernick would be able to get back into football form if he did indeed return to the field this season, having been out of the NFL since the end of the 2016 season. The former second-round draft pick who is set to turn 33 years old in November played for the 49ers in all six seasons of his professional career.
With the Patriots looking at multiple options for a new quarterback in 2020, Kaepernick could be a good match for the team and could maybe even be something worth taking a flier on.
In his last season in the NFL in 2016, Kaepernick finished the year with 2,241 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 appearances. His career-best passing season came in 2014 when he threw for 3,369 yards and 19 touchdowns in all 16 games for San Francisco.
On the ground in his most recent year, Kaepernick once again displayed his ability to both air out the ball and take things over on the ground as well. He ran for 468 yards and two touchdowns on a total of 69 rush attempts. Much like his career-best passing season, Kaepernick’s best rushing season occurred in 2014 when he ran 104 times for 639 yards and one touchdown.
Although Kaepernick may not be quite as mobile as he once was, he also does carry playoff experience after having appeared in a Super Bowl with the 49ers. That alone could make him a valuable addition to the team, even if it isn’t in a starting role.
New England could still roll with Stidham to see what the young quarterback has early on in the season and see if he is indeed the quarterback of the future in the post-Brady era. But New England could also take a look at Kaepernick, if nothing else as another backup option if it is all of a sudden in immediate need for a different quarterback under center during the regular season.