Forget about last year’s anthem protests, which Colin Kaepernick has made clear through intermediaries he won’t repeat. Focus only on his skills, and how they would fit with a team that hopes build an offense around running the football.
That’s what the Jaguars want to do. And Kaepernick, who averaged 6.8 yards per attempt a year ago, allows them to do that. (On PFT Live, Josh Norris referred to Kaepernick as a fantasy-football “cheat code,” given his ability to consistently pick up extra points with his legs.)
Yes, plenty of work would have to happen on the fly to adapt the offense to Kaepernick, with the zone read and other Kaepernick-friendly plays being added and other plays being scrapped. Coach Doug Marrone doesn’t seem to care about that, if it means getting him someone who will lead the offense. Given Kaepernick’s accomplishments and the career accomplishments of Blake Bortles and Chad Henne combined, isn’t Kaepernick the obvious choice?
Before assessing whether he’d be the right choice, it’s important to know who’d be making it. Marrone made it clear last night that, when it comes to options not on the roster, his hands are tied. A year ago, G.M. Dave Caldwell would have been the one making the call, without question. Now, it appears that executive V.P. of football operations Tom Coughlin is running the show.
Would Coughlin want Kaepernick? Before the draft, few would have expected Coughlin to provide a second chance to troubled Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook, but Coughlin did. So maybe he’d give a second chance to a guy who shouldn’t need one. Especially since that could be the team’s best chance to win games in 2017.
If the Jaguars want Kaepernick, they may need to move quickly. For the Ravens, Ryan Mallett’s latest preseason performance could be the thing that gets Baltimore to finally close the deal with Kaepernick.