“Jim Harbaugh has major clout”: Stephen A Smith adds fuel to rumors of Colin Kaepernick’s NFL return
Colin Kaepernick has been out of the gridiron since 2016 and has been a free agent since. The former quarterback wants to come back into the fold despite not generating much interest over the years. Now, Jim Harbaugh has plans in mind regarding Kaepernick.
Los Angeles Chargers coach Harbaugh once again opened the possibility of Kaepernick joining his side in a non-playing capacity. The 36-year-old QB was drafted by Harbaugh and achieved most of his success under him at the San Francisco 49ers.
Speaking to USA Today, Harbaugh expressed that Colin Kaepernick would be a “tremendous coach.” However, analyst Stephen A. Smith implored Harbaugh to take a different route.
“Jim Harbaugh has major clout”, said Smith on ESPN's First Take. “He’s an elite football coach. He’s a reigning national champion at the University of Michigan and has now come back to the NFL after doing an outstanding job as an NFL coach with the San Francisco 49ers.”
“Clearly the franchise is his in Los Angeles with the Chargers”, continued Smith. “If he has the power to bring him on as a coach, who’s to say that he’s going to be denied the opportunity to look at Kaepernick and say ‘You say you can still play, okay, Justin Herbert’s our quarterback."
"But if you think you can make a contribution on the football field as a quarterback, let’s say if Herbert gets hurt. If you have him on your staff as a coach, who’s to say you’re not going to be able to give him an opportunity to play?”
Stephen A. Smith made his point; now the ball is in Jim Harbaugh’s court. Only time will tell whether Colin Kaepernick will return to the NFL as a player or a coach.
Revisiting Colin Kaepernick's settlement with the NFL
After ending his time with the 49ers due to his “kneeling” controversy, Kaepernick became a free agent in 2017. However, the QB was not signed by any of the 32 teams. The same year, he took the NFL to court, alleging that all the owners had colluded to keep him out of the league.
In 2019, the NFL and Colin Kaepernick settled out of the court. As per The Guardian, the settlement amount to the QB was less than $10 million, a part of which was also earmarked for his lawyer’s fees.