Colin Kaepernick remains without an NFL job, for one reason or another, and it’s hard to pinpoint where he’ll land in free agency given the current quarterback landscape. Several teams surely could use a quarterback, especially one with ample starting experience, but the reality is each of those teams could prefer to start the season with someone with a higher ceiling.
In other words, a team like the Houston Texans, who currently have Tom Savage penciled in as their likely starter, or the Denver Broncos, who already have two quarterback projects in Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian, might not be all that interested in Kaepernick despite Tony Romo’s retirement eliminating one veteran option for the potential AFC contenders.
That said, Shannon Sharpe thinks another AFC threat, the Kansas City Chiefs, would be a good fit for Kaepernick, who turns 30 in November. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, who turns 33 next month, was the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback before Kaepernick ultimately supplanted him. Perhaps the two could work together again in K.C. under head coach Andy Reid.
“But let me throw something out there that you’ll be like ‘Hmm, this makes sense,’ ” Sharpe said Wednesday on FS1’s “Undisputed” while discussing Kaepernick’s future, according to FOXSports.com. “I like the Kansas City Chiefs. I like Andy Reid. Because (Kaepernick) is very similar to (Donovan McNabb). He can throw the ball like Donovan can, but he has better legs than Donovan. And Andy is not going to let you take high risk with the football, a la checkdown Alex Smith.
“Now Alex Smith is about to be 33, he has some concussion problems — because remember, in San Francisco, that’s how Kaep got the job.”
The Chiefs looked like Super Bowl contenders for much of last season with Smith at the helm, even though quarterback play wasn’t necessarily the team’s biggest strength. It’s probably unrealistic to think Kaepernick would seize the starting job from Smith — not immediately, at least — but, as Sharpe insists, Kaepernick makes more sense for the Chiefs than the Broncos when taking into account all factors related to their respective situations.
“So, all things being equal, I like Denver if Gary Kubiak was the head coach — and that’s why they wanted him after they won the Super Bowl. Because they’re a play-action type of football team, they can run the boots, Colin Kaepernick would be great,” Sharpe said, per FOXSports.com. “Now, with Mike McCoy as the coordinator, this doesn’t make nearly as much sense. And if you bring him in and you give him something, you believe he’s going to beat out Trevor Siemian. Because you’re not going to cut Paxton Lynch.
“The spot that makes the most sense for me when I look at it, going from top to bottom, is the Kansas City Chiefs.”
For now, the job search continues.
