By: Alex Norwood
In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback had a very flourishing career, thanks to the favors from coach Chip Kelly.…
His contract had an opt-out clause, and many people expected him to activate it to become a free agent. This is because the team was being tipped to pick Kyle Shanahan as coach, and many believed he will not use the quarterback because he will not fit into his offense styled team.
The major areas the expected coach focuses on are the areas the player is not good in, and they include reading defenses and accuracy. Again, his $14.5 million base salary for the year to come may be another factor in the wheel of his remaining in the club. If he is left to go, this will mean a lot of savings for the club.
Come 2017 and the expectations came to fruition as Colin Kaepernick is no longer with the 49ers. He is currently a free agent and no club has signed him. But the question on the lips of people out there is whether he can still play in the NFL.
Johnny Manziel is a fellow quarterback. When quizzed about the Colin Kaepernick situation, he posited that the player is still good enough for the NFL, and could still play for any club in the league. He believes he will still find himself on a roster in the league. While speaking, he posited that the player may not be handed a start. But the fact is that he has what it takes to be on a roster. He believes that Colin will be okay with time. But the entire buzz will have to die down before this can happen. He went ahead to reel out the achievements of his fellow quarterback by pointing to the meeting between the 49ers and the ravens in the Super Bowl. He was very outstanding in that game, and in the game against Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship. He believes that Colin Kaepernick helped to make those happen. For him, any player that succeeded in getting a team to such points has proven what he can do whenever he is given the chance. He believes that the guy’s track record is one that shows that his career, even though it may have some downsides from time to time, is far from being over.
This is coming on the hills of speculations of why he is still unsigned. A lot of people are trying to pitch it on his performance by saying that teams believe he is not good enough to play for them. Some others are saying that he is being blacklisted by many teams because of his political stance. However, when you see Manziel offering these perceptions, you may understand where he is coming from. He has also had tainted career within the past few years, and is still trying to stage a comeback. He was laid off for the entire season because of injury, and during the off season, his legal troubles and some other events off the field still kept him out. But he has said that he is coming back, positing that many NFL managers and teams have contacted him. He said he did not participate at all in the present season because of concerns from NFL.
He also said that he is being wooed to come and play baseball for some NFL teams. It would be recalled that he was listed by the Texas A&M's and San Diego Padres sometime in 2014. But because he chose football, he did not feature for them.
But the fact is that Manziel is always expected to support his colleague, and he doesn’t have the entire perspectives. So, the question that is still on the lips of people is whether it would be possible for Kaepernick to return to the NFL.
Now, to consider whether he could still play or not, it is good to forget about his stance on politics and focus on football. People say he is slow in releasing the ball, he runs the ball too much, and he has lost a step. But the question is, ‘did these things happen within the last few weeks? If the answer is no, then the speed and skills that saw him do well in the last season, could still propel him to do same for this season. So, yes, he may still have a chance at the NFL.