Colin Kaepernick is shooting his shot once again at the struggling New York Jets. This time, he has sent a formal letter of proposal for his interest in being a practice QB for the franchise but the question still remains, if Woody Johnson has the appetite to welcome the polarizing personality? NFL Network’s Steve Wyche does not think so, but he believes that it is still an enticing offer.
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Wyche in his recent appearance on the ‘Rich Eisen Show‘ weighed in on the possibility of the Jets’ next move. He feels that the letter sent by Kaepernick was “professionally done” but the team does not have the “stomach” to accommodate such a personality.
Rich Eisen is Not Amused by the Colin Kaepernick Offer
In the aftermath of Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles, Colin Kaepernick has penned a special letter to the New York Jets. He is proposing to serve as a practice squad quarterback for them. Kaepernick says that his commitment is towards enhancing the Jets’ defense. He is willing to be a “risk-free” backup option if needed. Reflecting on this, Rich Eisen asked Steven Wyche, “What do you know about Kaepernick’s football readiness?” Wyche gave his opinion to Eisen saying,
“All we know is his word that he’s been working out, staying in shape. In this letter, he’s like I’m not trying to come take Zach’s job. I’ll just come in and be your scout team quarterback to help your defenses get ready.”
Could the @nyjets really add @Kaepernick7 to their practice squad?
Talked about the Super Bowl quarterback’s letter to New York GM Joe Douglas with @nflnetwork‘s @wyche89, who first reported on Colin Kaepernick’s protests back in 2016:#NFL #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/uO0MxkN6d3
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 27, 2023
Eisen, who’s a hardcore New York Jets fan, wasn’t quite amused by the idea that Colin Kaepernick pitched to Woody Johnson. After listening to Wyche, Eisen responded by saying, “If this gets to a point where the Jets are just kicking tires and looking for answers and that’s Kaepernick.”
“You have to sit here and understand any NFL team that welcomes in somebody into their home, who might use this moment as a platform for a social stance of any sort, any team might be like – ‘yeah this is not what we’re looking for right now we’re looking for a quarterback, we’re not looking for someone to utilize the opportunity to make a social stance,” Rich added.
Thanks to @JColeNC, we learned Tuesday that @Kaepernick7 wrote to #TakeFlight GM Joe Douglas offering his services to their practice squad — should they take the former Super Bowl quarterback up on his offer?#NFL @JColeNC pic.twitter.com/sCCTz9KFvD
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 27, 2023
This surely underscores the complexity of the proposal by Kaepernick and it’s implication for an NFL team, just in case they agree to give him another opportunity.
NFL Return Seems Difficult for Colin Kaepernick
Steve Wyche gave his insight on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ concerning the recent Colin Kaepernick letter. The NFL Network’s reporter described it as “professionally done.” Moreover, he even suggested it could serve as a template for other teams. He says to Rich Eisen,
“Kap’s letter could not have been more professionally done. As a courtesy, I think he should send this out to every team because there are a lot of teams that could use him as a scout team quarterback or whatever. He lives in New York, he’s saying this could be to prove a point like see Woody Johnson won’t do this because of his politics, verifying once again what I’ve been saying for six years.”
Colin Kaepernick wrote a letter to the New York Jets asking to join their practice squad: pic.twitter.com/XwI5WWd425
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 26, 2023
Wyche is also of the opinion that many owners have had opportunities to bring in Kaepernick over the years. However, they have refrained from doing so for similar scenarios. He said,
“There is a fear of – ‘Okay if we bring him in, we already have the media crowd of Aaron Rodgers, albeit that he’s hurt, they’re still ripe for that. And now we bring him in here’. So as an owner again I just don’t think Woody Johnson or any of these owners we’ve seen over the years have the stomach for that.”
The NFL landscape is full of symbolic gestures and twisted storylines. Amidst all this, it will be interesting to see if Kaepernick actually gets a chance to show his prowess once again on the highest level.