Vikings signing Colin Kaepernick suggested by ex-NFL spokesman

Former NFL spokesman thinks the Minnesota Vikings should sign Colin Kaepernick.

At the top of their quarterback depth chart, the Minnesota Vikings are set with Kirk Cousins for the next few years. No one is going to argue against that. But behind Cousins is where the Vikings could use some improving.

For the second-straight year, Minnesota appears to be rolling with the underwhelming Sean Mannion as their No. 2 quarterback. If Cousins were to miss any time in 2020, the Vikings would be relying on someone in Mannion who has zero wins in two career starts and zero touchdown passes since entering the NFL in 2015.

Minnesota is banking on Cousins being healthy for the majority of the 2020 season and in today’s league where a player’s career can be taken away in a heartbeat due to injury, the team should really consider a better backup option behind their starting signal-caller.

Should the Minnesota Vikings consider signing Colin Kaepernick?

There are still a number of free-agent quarterbacks who the Vikings could add before the start of the upcoming season. However, former NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart believes Minnesota can make a statement by signing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

"“The situation in Minnesota right now offers a unique opportunity to deal with the symbols of racial injustice. As a small, but important step, the owners of the Minnesota Vikings, Zygi and Mark Wilf, can send a strong message by offering Colin Kaepernick a contract to play with the Vikings. Bring him into camp, treat him like any of the other players given a chance to play the game they love.”"

The situation Lockhart is referring to, of course, is the recent protests and riots that have taken place in the Twin Cities and all over the country in response to the death of George Floyd.

During his last season in the NFL, Kaepernick was both praised and ridiculed for his decision to kneel during the playing of the national anthem before each game. The former 49ers quarterback decided to do this in order to bring more awareness to the unfair treatment of minorities around the country.

What Kaepernick was protesting for back in 2016 is very similar to what the people in Minnesota and all over the U.S. are currently protesting.

As much as Kaepernick would probably be a much better No. 2 option behind Cousins for the Vikings than Mannion next season, it doesn’t seem very likely that the former San Francisco quarterback would want to finally re-join an NFL team due to guilt and pity.

If Minnesota wants to look into the possibility of signing Kaepernick because he would be an upgrade at their No. 2 quarterback spot, then that’s fine. But the Vikings shouldn’t add him to their roster to just do something that could be interpreted by many as a publicity stunt.