Could the Miami Dolphins sign Colin Kaepernick to a backup mentor role?
By Shawn Digity
The Miami Dolphins could take a quarterback in the upcoming. If that’s the case, would the Fins sign a veteran to help? Could it be Colin Kaepernick?
The Miami Dolphins have had a lot of connections with the recently-committed Kyler Murray. I’ve seen mocks where Murray is the pick and many analysts talk about him being a fit in Miami. It makes sense since the Dolphins need a quarterback and Murray is one of the best in this year’s class.
I’ve also seen a mock where the Dolphins trade up and take Dwayne Haskins, and I’ve seen some mocks that have the Dolphins staying at 13 and selecting Daniel Jones. The point is that many people are under the impression that the Dolphins need a quarterback.
So, if the Dolphins did end up with Kyler Murray or any rookie quarterback, then it stands to reason that the Dolphins would sign a veteran to help with his professional development. I’m not betting on any of the current Miami Dolphins quarterbacks. Luke Falk wouldn’t be a very good guiding light.
That begs the question of who could be a good fit as the rookie QB’s mentor? Tyrod Taylor might be an option. Maybe it could be Ryan Fitzpatrick. The idea isn’t farfetched; Baker Mayfield had Tyrod Taylor, Sam Darnold had Josh McCown, and Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith for a year.
Alright, so here’s the big question. Could that veteran become Colin Kaepernick? He recently finished his role in the collusion case, in which he settled for a currently undisclosed amount. Kaepernick’s attorney has also stated that he “absolutely wants to play”.
I’ve painted a big hypothetical with this idea of drafting a rookie QB and then adding Colin Kaepernick into the mix, potentially, so here’s what I think about it. I do not think that Colin Kaepernick would be a good idea as a Miami Dolphins signee.
You could take the rookie quarterback out of that equation and I still think it’s a bad idea. I’ve proposed a lot of different quarterback options over the past month: Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray, Josh Rosen, but if this Colin Kaepernick scenario came to any fruition it would become detrimental to what the Dolphins are trying to do.
As an athlete, I think Colin Kaepernick is more than capable of being a starting quarterback, but the Dolphins are looking down the barrel of a rebuild and I fail to see how Kaepernick would help in a cleaning of the slate.
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With a team signing Kaepernick, and that’s any team, there would be a media field day on his finally returning to professional football. If that team were the Dolphins, the season would be consumed by boycotting fans who oppose the signing and dissection of everything Dolphins related in regard to Colin Kaepernick. That doesn’t sound conducive to a successful franchise rebranding.
And if there’s a rookie quarterback trying to launch his career, how would he not get overshadowed? The rookie would likely start taking his lumps, and when that’s the case, a hive will emerge from the woodwork calling for the rookie to be benched and that Kaepernick should be given a chance. I think that at some point during the 2019 season, a QB controversy would start to brew.
The Brian Flores and [enter rookie quarterback] era of Dolphins franchise history would screech to a halt turn as it turns into the Colin Kaepernick show, which seems contradictory to what the Dolphins have indicated they are going to do.
I couldn’t even tell you if any of the 2019 rookie quarterbacks would end up playing better than Kaepernick in this upcoming season (if Kaepernick were to play). That’s not the point, either. This isn’t about whether or not I think Kaepernick will or should or could play in 2019.
He could become the solution for an NFL team, but I don’t think it’s the Dolphins. Although he’s missed two full seasons, I think he could eventually return to the form he had when starting in San Francisco.
I think the wisest course of action for the Miami Dolphins in this fantasy scenario is to leave well enough alone and remain committed to rebuilding the franchise organically. They can’t do that if they sign Colin Kaepernick.