While there has been a lot of positive discussion about the possibility of Colin Kaepernick returning to the NFL, from players, coaches, and even one owner, there are plenty of people out there who don’t feel bad for the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback in his quest to play once more.
That includes multiple former NFL players, who sounded off this week over Kaepernick.
First was Antonio Brown, who appeared on various podcasts during the week, saying that Kaepernick has been treated “good” since he left the NFL following social justice protests. Brown added that Kaepernick has been well-paid thanks to his Nike deal and that the reason he’s not in the NFL is that he simply isn’t good enough.
“[The NFL] gave him the money and they gave him the commercial… we don’t feel sorry for you, you took the deal!,” Brown said on the Cigar Talk podcast, referring to Kaepernick’s NFL settlement.
“He don’t wanna play man, he was trash. Listen man, Kaepernick did all that and took the money and got the commercial. We don’t see Kaepernick outside [working].”
That sentiment was carried through by former NFL star Shawne Merriman, who spoke to TMZ Sports over the weekend.
“He makes some valid points about Colin Kaepernick, saying that, you know, he took the money from the NFL. The settlement. The Nike commercials — all these things,” the former linebacker said.
“Well, I think a lot of people think that way about all the other stuff that Colin Kaepernick has going on, and his opportunities that he’s had to get back in the NFL, and just hasn’t.”
Merriman added that while people might not like Brown over his own issues, that doesn’t make his thoughts less true.
“We get the message. But people aren’t trying to listen to the messenger,” Merriman said. “If you listen to what he said, he actually made a couple valid points in there.”
How much of this are sour grapes because Kaepernick is getting tons of attention while Brown is grasping for relevance after being released by the Buccaneers last season? Hard to know. But the hot takes on Kaepernick are sure to continue.
