Richard Sherman slams Redskins for not calling on Colin Kaepernick

Richard Sherman isn’t thrilled that the Redskins passed on signing Colin Kaepernick while “worse football players are getting chance after chance after chance.” (Getty Images)

Story by Yahoo Sports
Written by Liz Roscher

The Washington Redskins have needed two quarterbacks in recent weeks, and at no time did they call on Colin Kaepernick. And Richard Sherman, the former Seattle Seahawks defensive back who is now with the San Francisco 49ers, isn’t having any of it.

Sherman was asked about Kaepernick when he made an appearance on CBS Sports Radio. And he was crystal clear: it’s ridiculous that Kaepernick keeps getting passed over, and it’s obvious why. Here’s what he said to CBS Sports Radio’s Tiki and Tierney when he was asked if it’s fair that the Redskins would sign Reuben Foster, who has been arrested twice in 2018 for assaulting the same woman, but would pass over Kaepernick:

“I think it’s unfair because he’s a good football player and he’s not getting a chance to play football. And worse football players are getting chance after chance after chance after chance after chance after chance. Obviously the Washington situation is the most egregious at this moment, but there have been plenty of quarterback situations that have been worse than this, and quarterbacks that have played meaningful football in this league that are not as talented or have the resume that Colin Kaepernick has. The most frustrating thing is there’s nothing that anybody can do about it. The NFL is obviously belligerently freezing him out. Everybody sees it, it’s pretty obvious, and there’s nothing that can be done.

Kaepernick has filed a collusion grievance against the NFL for this very reason: it seems like a coordinated effort to keep him out of the NFL. The excuses keep getting less believable, too. Redskins coach Jay Gruden recently said that they decided to pass over Kaepernick because there was no time to get a new QB caught up on their system, or to install both a new QB and a new system.

Either that’s a terrible excuse for why they didn’t want to sign (or even seriously consider) Kaepernick, or the Redskins are just a really bad team that can’t do what the Baltimore Ravens have managed to do for several weeks. (Honestly, both could be true.)

It’s definitely fair to say that signing Kaepernick wouldn’t have suddenly turned around the Redskins’ failing season. But it’s hard to deny that based on his résumé alone, he would have been a better choice than either Mark Sanchez, who was called in to be the backup for QB Colt McCoy, or Josh Johnson, who was signed to be Sanchez’s backup after McCoy broke his fibula. Johnson hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2013. Sherman pointed out that Kaepernick has been to the playoffs and the Super Bowl, and has played in multiple Pro Bowls.

Sherman went on the “PFT PM” podcast on Tuesday and said even more, putting the entire situation into stunning and disheartening perspective. Via ProFootballTalk:

“[McCoy and Sanchez] had up and down years and Colin has played at a higher level than I would say any of those guys ever performed at the peak of their careers. You start to see stuff like that and it’s almost like teams are purposefully making it obvious that, like, they’re keeping him out. Unfortunately there has, to this point, been nothing that the courts or the league has done about it and that’s the disappointing part, because these good football players didn’t commit a crime, he didn’t put his hands on anybody, murder anybody, you know, do anything that’s that insanely crazy that he deserves to be banned from our football league.”

It doesn’t seem like Kaepernick’s résumé matters. His collusion grievance, as well as his position on kneeling during the anthem to protest social injustice, is going to continue to keep him from getting a job in the NFL. Meanwhile, Foster’s two assault arrests in less than a year didn’t stop him from being picked up by the Redskins a mere day after he was cut.