Should the Detroit Lions consider signing Colin Kaepernick?

Would Colin Kaepernick be a good fit for the Detroit Lions in Motor City?

When former owner Martha Firestone Ford was in charge of the team, she was against her players kneeling for the anthem. And she requested all Detroit Lions players and personnel to stand.

With the Lions being Ford’s team, her rules would have had to been followed. That meant current free agents like quarterback Colin Kaepernick or safety Eric Reid, players known to kneel during the anthem, would likely not have been welcomed in Detroit.

Just recently, Ford handed ownership of the team to her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp. And one of the first things Hamp addressed was kneeling during the anthem and Colin Kaepernick.

While Hamp has stated that she won’t kneel, she has expressed support for those who do. And that she would have no problem with Lions players who decide to do so.

In regards to Kaepernick, here’s what Hamp told local reporters on a conference call this past week according to The Detroit News.

"“Well, if our coaches and general manager all thought it would be a good idea to bring him in, I would completely support that.”"

Now here’s the question: Would it be a good idea to bring Kaepernick to Detroit? Or in other words, is he a good fit for the Lions?

If Kaepernick were to be signed by the Lions organization, he’d be brought in to backup current quarterback Matthew Stafford. He would be no threat to usurp him as the starter.

When Stafford went down with an injury last season, it was a big blow to the team. That was evidenced by the fact the Lions lost all their games without him on the active roster.

Better Detroit Lions’ backup quarterback: Colin Kaepernick or Chase Daniel?

After backup quarterbacks Jeff Driskel and David Blough didn’t win a single contest for Detroit last year, the Lions found a serviceable backup this offseason by signing Chase Daniel to a three-year, $13.5 million deal. Here’s how Daniel’s and Kaepernick’s career stats lineup with each other.

Colin Kaepernick: 69 games| 59.8% completion rate| 12,271 yards| 72 touchdowns| 30 interceptions

Chase Daniel: 65 games| 68.4% completion rate| 1,430 yards| 7 touchdowns| 5 interceptions

Despite the fact that Kaepernick hasn’t played since 2016, his stats are significantly better than Daniel’s as they’ve played roughly the same amount of games in their careers. One thing the stats don’t necessarily show is his arm strength and accuracy, which Kaepernick excels at both.

This is also without mentioning that Kaepernick can run the ball himself and he can do so quite well. In his career, he’s amassed 2,300 rushing yards while averaging 6.1 yards a run. He’s got 13 rushing touchdowns, but also 21 fumbles.

Based on stats, Kaepernick is clearly a better quarterback than Daniels.Bbut how would he adjust to being in the NFL after not being able to get a contract for over 1,000 days?

Kaepernick has apparently been working out multiple times a week in case an NFL team comes calling for his services. But he hasn’t appeared in a professional football game for over three years. Is he really in game shape?

If Kaepernick were to be signed by the Lions, or any team for this matter, he would bring in a ton of media coverage with the press circling around him and the team nonstop. We’re talking about Kaepernick getting interviews game after game and tons of questions being asked about him to his teammates from the media despite the fact he may not have even play.

There’s also little doubt that Kaepernick would likely continue to kneel for the anthem if he were to be signed. He first kneeled in a 2016 preseason game and with him being a huge voice for social justice and racial oppression, there’s no reason to think he would stop now.

While Kaepernick would probably love to get back on an NFL field, his price tag could be massive. When the XFL was starting up, it was reported that he wanted $20 million per season to play. But this could be attributed to the fact that Kaepernick probably would have brought an exorbitant amount of media coverage to a secondary professional football league that needed all the publicity they could get.

In the end, is Colin Kaepernick someone the Detroit Lions should consider signing? Kaepernick would be a significant upgrade over Chase Daniel statistically. But the Lions would have to be willing to take the excessive amount of media coverage, both good and bad. If the front office believes that bringing in Kaepernick would help the team win games in case Stafford went down with an injury, then he should be brought to Motown.