ESPN analyst and talking head Dan Le Batard hasn't strayed away from hot takes in the past and that personality trait remained true recently when speaking about a lightning-rod topic in Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick still hasn't been signed to an NFL team, even as a backup. and Le Batard was clear that he thinks that's preposterous.
First of all, he thinks the 49ers quarterback is at least good enough to collect an NFL paycheck. That's an opinion that can be argued, but it holds more weight when evaluating Kaepernick from a backup quarterback's role. He's still talented and athletic enough to make an NFL defense have to think twice, and if anything, his experience would be important to have just incase a starter somewhere happened to go down.
Le Batard was clear about this thoughts. He believes Kaepernick is good enough to earn a big-league paycheck.
"He is good enough to be a quarterback employed by that league, period," he said. "There's nobody who can dispute that. There's nobody in that league who can dispute that."
That alone is a pretty sizzling take on Kaepernick, especially this summer, but Le Batard took it a step further. He insinuated that the only reason NFL teams aren't picking Kaep up is the off-field controversy that comes along with him due to his National Anthem strike. In fact, the ESPN personality went as far as to suggest that the people who run the league are afraid of Kaepernick.
"He is good enough to be paid by that league and the only reason he's not paid by that league is because that league is run by cowards. I shouldn't say it's the only reason. It's one of the reasons," Le Batard said.
According to Le Batard, there are at least six teams in the NFL that could use a quarterback like Kaepernick but they've passed on him because the team executives are afraid of everything that comes along with signing him. He's a player who is loved by many but also despised by many as well — thus is the nature of any social stand. Some fans may be happy that their team took their own stand by signing Kaepernick while others may have their loyalty tested.
That's a risk NFL executives aren't willing to take, though, per Le Batard, and he called two organizations out, in particular: The Jets and their horrible quarterback situation, and Tampa Bay, which has Ryan Fitzpatrick as the backup to Jameis Winston.
"Colin Kaepernick has brought this issue to their doorstep and what's happened here is they're all afraid of it," Le Batard said.
