- The Washington Times - Thursday, June 18, 2020

President Trump is open to the idea of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started a protest movement of kneeling during the national anthem that he and his political allies are strongly against, returning to the NFL.

Kaepernick, 32, has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season.

“If he deserves it, he should” be given another job in the NFL, Trump told ABC7. “If he has the playing ability. He started off great and then he didn’t end up very great in terms of as a player.”

“He was terrific in his rookie year, I think he was very good in his second year and then something happened. His playing wasn’t up to snuff,” Trump said.

Kaepernick technically didn’t play in his rookie year with the San Francisco 49ers, instead sitting behind Alex Smith and only getting into three games in limited action. It was his second year that he broke out after Smith suffered a concussion. Kaepernick took the league by storm and brought the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

After being the first of many to kneel in 2016 in protest of police brutality, he left San Francisco when he was told he would not be in the new coach’s plans. Unable to sign elsewhere since, he accused the league of blackballing him and filed a grievance with former teammate Eric Reid, which was settled for a figure less than $10 million.

At a rally in 2017, Trump said he wished that when players knelt during the anthem, their team owner would say, “Get that son of a b—-h off the field right now. Out! He’s fired.”

Now, Trump said he would “absolutely” support Kaepernick returning to the league, but added that it would be “unfair” for him to get a job if he wasn’t able to play well.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said Wednesday that his team has Kaepernick on a “workout list” in case of emergency.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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