If you hadn’t already long since decided that Colin Kaepernick has no chance of ever playing again in the NFL, consider the Washington Redskins.
The ‘Skins are down the two quarterbacks who were on their roster most of the season, starter Alex Smith and long-time backup Colt McCoy, both lost for the season with broken legs.
Which means that Mark Sanchez, he of the butt fumble, is the starting quarterback, after being signed on Nov. 19, in the wake of the Smith injury.
And now the backup: Josh Johnson.
Who last appeared in an NFL game in 2013, last threw a pass in an NFL game in 2011, and is 0-5 career as a starter, four of those losses coming in his rookie season in 2009.
Coach Jay Gruden conceded on Monday that the team’s brass had talked about Kaepernick as a possibility, but ruled him out because Kaepernick’s strengths as a dual-threat quarterback wouldn’t fit into what Washington likes to do offensively.
Which is, apparently, punt the ball a lot, when not turning the ball over.
You’re tired of hearing this in relation to Kaepernick, but I still feel it’s worth pointing out, career stats.
Kaep has a career passer rating of 88.9, in 69 games, 58 of those starts, with a 59.8 percent completion rate, 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns, 30 interceptions, along with 2,300 rushing yards and 13 more touchdowns on the ground, and a 28-30 career record as a starter.
In six career playoff games, dating back to 2012-2013, his passer rating is 87.3, with a 58.0 percent completion rate, 7 TDs, 5 INTs, with 507 yards and 4 TDs on the ground, and a 4-2 record as a starter.
Sanchez has a career passer rating of 73.7, in 78 games, 72 of them starts, with a 56.7 percent completion rate, 15,319 yards, 86 TDs, 87 interceptions, along with 457 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, the aforementioned butt fumble, and a 37-35 record as a starter.
In six career playoff games, dating back to 2009-2010, his passer rating was 94.3, with a 60.5 percent completion rate, 1,155 yards, 9 TDs, 3 INTs, and nine yards and no touchdowns on the ground, and a 4-2 record as a starter.
Johnson’s numbers are hilarious: 57.7 passer rating, 54.2 percent completion rate, 1,042 yards, 5 touchdowns, 10 INTs, 274 rushing yards, bubkus.
You want to say, but, yeah, but Kaepernick, he hasn’t played in a while.
Aforementioned: Johnson hasn’t taken a snap in a live game since 2011, and Sanchez, until Monday night, had last played in 2016, getting mop-up action in two games in Dallas, throwing 18 passes.
Kaep started 11 games for a bad San Francisco 49ers team that went 2-14, and he still was able, on that bad team, to put up decent numbers: 90.4 passer rating, 50.2 percent completion rate, 2,241 yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs, 468 rushing yards and 2 TDs on the ground.
Without knowing for sure, I’d be willing to still bet that if you gave the ball to Kaepernick and said, we’re still running the offense we designed for Alex Smith, he’s a better bet to run things than at least Josh Johnson, and it’s not a stretch to say that he’s a better bet than Mark Sanchez.
But, then, there’s still the controversy over Kaep kneeling, and I get it, you’re the Redskins, you want to avoid controversy.
I mean, claiming Reuben Foster off waivers 48 hours after the Niners cut him after he beat up an ex-girlfriend in the team hotel, that’s another thing entirely, completely irrelevant in this discussion.
That’s about maybe winning football games, assuming the NFL ever sees fit to let Foster suit up again, which, when’s the last time you saw Ray Rice in a uniform?
So, no, that ain’t happenin’.
Kaepernick, he’s a bad fit, because he completes passes at a higher rate, throws the ball to the other team at a much lower rate, can get first downs with his feet, has led his team to a Super Bowl, can put up good numbers even in bad situations.
Daniel Snyder can go to hell.
Column by Chris Graham
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