RadioOnFire.com - The San Francisco 49ers announced Tuesday that they would turn to Colin Kaepernick at quarterback for Sunday’s game at Buffalo.
The 49ers are off to a 1-4 start this season, and Blaine Gabbert, in his sixth N.F.L. season, has struggled at quarterback.
Kaepernick has been drawing substantially more attention than a typical backup quarterback over the last few weeks. He has been the face of a movement to kneel during the national anthem, to protest police brutality and racism in the United States. The gesture has spread to several other N.F.L. players, to college and high school teams, and to other sports.
Some have applauded Kaepernick for his stand, and others have condemned him for it. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg even weighed in, calling his actions “dumb and disrespectful.”
Many commentators have said Kaepernick’s protest could be a distraction to the team. Now, that potential distraction has moved from the sideline onto the field.
“It’s a football decision,” Coach Chip Kelly said.
After replacing Alex Smith, Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season and to the N.F.C. championship game the next year. But the team then slipped to 8-8 before last year’s 5-11 debacle, during which Kaepernick was benched for Gabbert. Kaepernick’s numbers fell steadily, year after year, in that time. He has also faced injury issues, including off-season surgery.
But Gabbert has been abysmal this season. In the important statistic of adjusted yards per attempt, he stood 40th out of 42 quarterbacks, ahead of only the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Cardinals’ Drew Stanton.
Kaepernick’s athletic style attracted praise, especially after the Super Bowl year. There were some who saw his running talent and ability to throw the ball deep as potentially revolutionary. But his shortcomings as a passer turned off many traditionalists, and their opinion has been ascendant in recent years.
Source NYTimes
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