Let’s get it! Nola has always showed love. I’m on my way! ✊🏾💪🏾 https://t.co/T6D3LP9RHf
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) March 20, 2022
Let’s not make more out of this than it is, but it is worth noting given the void on top of the New Orleans Saints depth chart at quarterback. New Orleans Saints wide receiver Jalen McCleskey invited Colin Kaepernick to join him for a throwing session following the free agent’s workout last week with Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowler Tyler Lockett, saying on Twitter that he’s on his way to a city that “has always showed love,” and where he took the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl in 2012.
Kaepernick, 34, hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL since the 2016 season after his protests against social injustice and police brutality became the center of controversy between fans, players, and league ownership themselves. He reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the NFL in 2019 after alleging collusion grievances to keep him out of the league, but Kaepernick has remained sidelined — but working hard to stay ready for his next opportunity — ever since.
Obviously the Saints should give him a look. They’ve reportedly ruled out Taysom Hill as an option under center this season and have yet to re-sign Jameis Winston following last year’s season-ending knee injury, leaving Ian Book and Blake Bortles as their only passers under contract. They need more quarterbacks, and there aren’t many out there with a stronger resume than Kaepernick.
After a lengthy but ill-fated pursuit of Deshaun Watson, whose 22 allegations of sexual misconduct are likely to lead to a league suspension this year, New Orleans can’t exactly say that Kaepernick would be too distracting an addition for their team. If they were willing to trade three years’ worth of draft picks for a passer who was being deposed in court in-between meetings with them, they should be willing to give Kaepernick the shot he deserves.
But it’s more likely we’ll get a not-interest response from the Saints if anyone ever gets to ask first-year head coach Dennis Allen about it. That was the case for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who gave a not-in-my-backyard response when asked whether he’d consider Kaepernick as a possible replacement for Russell Wilson following his blockbuster trade to the Denver Broncos. Maybe McCleskey sees some things in working out with Kaepernick and gets the word back to Allen and the Saints, but frankly, if Kaepernick hasn’t gotten another shot over the last five or six years it isn’t likely to happen now, unjust as that is.
