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Redskins: Former general manager Scot McCloughan says Colin Kaepernick could start in NFL

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 20: General Manager Scot McCloughan of the Washington Redskins talks on the phone prior to the start of a game against the St. Louis Rams at FedExField on September 20, 2015 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 20: General Manager Scot McCloughan of the Washington Redskins talks on the phone prior to the start of a game against the St. Louis Rams at FedExField on September 20, 2015 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images) /
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Former Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan recently got a Twitter account and has been fairly active on it. He recently was talking about Colin Kaepernick.

The unceremonious firing of Scot McCloughan caught many fans of the Washington Redskins off guard this offseason. After have a relatively successful first two years with the team, McCloughan was mysteriously absent from the team at the NFL Combine. That was the first sign that something was wrong. On the eve of free agency, the Redskins announced that they had parted ways with McCloughan, and Bruce Allen would lead the team during the offseason.

Since that time, McCloughan has had nothing but good things to say about the Redskins organization. He wouldn’t rule out a return to the team in the right situation, and has taken time to answer questions on Twitter in the past few days.

Recently, McCloughan was asked a question about Colin Kaepernick. McCloughan is familiar with Kaepernick from his time spent in the NFC West. He was the general manager of the 49ers from 2008-2009 and also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks from 2010-2013. As a member of the Seahawks front office, he saw the rise of Kaepernick in Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers system. They were the Seahawks main rival during McCloughan’s tenure.

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Anyway, the question posed on Twitter was about whether or not Kaepernick could start in the NFL this season. McCloughan kept the answer short and sweet.

This is yet another strong endorsement for Kaepernick, who is still looking to get a job in the NFL for another season.

Early on in his career, Kaepernick’s best weapon was his mobility. He was one of the new breed of read option quarterbacks who was able to find success by mixing running and passing well. However, as the NFL caught on to the new trend, Kaepernick began to regress. He was never a true pocket passer, and having less ability to succeed on designed quarterback runs hurt his productivity.

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Of course, the departure of Harbaugh also played a role in Kaepernick’s regression. There’s no doubt about it. Harbaugh is a well-known quarterback guru who has been able to turn some of the most average NFL quarterbacks, like Alex Smith, into high caliber starters. Kaepernick needed his coaching to continue to develop, but he never got it. Also, Kaepernick’s dedication to film study has reportedly been detrimental to his career (per Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com).

Still, Kaepernick has proven to be a serviceable option in recent years, and his numbers on paper from last year look pretty good. He threw for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions in 11 starts. He still has arm strength and his excellent mobility, and those skills definitely helped him to put up these numbers.

Of course, there are two sides to every story. In those 11 starts, Kaepernick led his team to a lowly 1-10 record. Granted, the 49ers didn’t have a strong supporting cast, but Kaepernick was a part of the problem. Simply put, he lacks the accuracy to be a solid NFL starter. And a lot of the good numbers he put up came in garbage time during those losses. The 49ers were already down big, so many teams just played prevent defense and allowed them to score late.

At the end of the day, Kaepernick is an NFL quarterback. But he is not a starter. He is a backup with high upside who some team should sign. If the likes of Thad Lewis, Matt McGloin, and Austin Davis have jobs in the NFL, then Kaepernick should too. If the Redskins had any sort of need at the backup quarterback position, I would call on them to sign him. For now, the team is set with Colt McCoy as the top backup.

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You don’t have to like Kaepernick’s political stances. But when it’s all said and done, McCloughan is partially right. This man has the talent to play in the NFL, but it should be as a backup. It will be interesting to see if some team eventually makes a move to sign him.

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