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If it looks like a stunt, if it feels like a stunt, if it smells like a stunt, it must be an NFL production.
Yes, that’s Eric Reid reaching for a mask and a B.S. detector.
“It feels disingenuous,” Reid told ESPN Wednesday regarding the workout the NFL has whipped up for his former 49ers teammate Colin Kaepernick.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Reid said. “At this point, it feels like a PR stunt.”
When it was announced, the workout seemed a breakthrough for Kaepernick, who has not received so much as a sniff from the NFL’s 32 franchises since he parted ways with the 49ers. There were going to be head coaches, general managers, player personnel brainiacs, a Chuck E. Cheese pop-up, maybe even a bouncy house and a petting zoo.
Then the NFL announced the workout would be held in Atlanta on Saturday — a day on which pretty much every team is traveling, safely ensconced in their hotels, going through a walk-through, and/or giving the game plan one more going-over. Not even the Falcons will be in Atlanta. They have a game Sunday at Carolina.
“What decision-makers are going to be able to attend a (Saturday) workout?” asked Reid, who joined Kaepernick in his kneeling social justice protests in 2016. Reid found so little appetite for his skills that he joined Kaepernick in a collusion grievance against the NFL. The league and the players eventually reached a settlement, the terms of which are bound by a nondisclosure agreement. Ultimately, Reid was signed by the Panthers.
“The other strange thing,” Reid said, “I saw there was a report other teams were interested in Colin but they reached out to the league about it. That’s strange.”
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, multiple teams intend to be represented at the workout. However, none of the teams have confirmed ahead of time.
TMZ Sports published a report Thursday morning, a roll call if you will, of parties interested in evaluating Kaepernick.
* Will attend: Lions. Head coach Matt Patricia said at his weekly press conference, “As an organization, we always do our due diligence on all players that are available.” Really? Because Kaepernick has been available for three years.
* May attend: Broncos.
* No comment: Texans.
* Not sure: Bears, Ravens, Patriots.
* Still scratching their heads: Colts.
* Too focused on beating Washington: Jets.
* “Not really in tune” with Kaepernick’s situation: Cowboys. This is rich, given that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones takes national anthem protocol orders from President Trump, who has suggested that Kaepernick should go live in another country.
*Pretty sure: Dolphins.
All in all, it’s a fine time for the cynic in your soul.
“This doesn’t seem like this is thought-out,” said Domonique Foxworth, who played defensive back for three teams in his seven-year NFL career, appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up.”
“I’m not sure what their goal is. One thing that’s clear to me is that teams are interested, which is a surprise. We’ve been told all the time that no team is interested. For some reason (teams are) scared to bring him in. But they’re interested enough that they might sign him? None of this adds up.”
“This seems like a setup,” said Ryan Clark, a Pro Bowl safety during a 13-year NFL career. “This seems like a way to distance themselves from the blackball stuff, a way to distance themselves from, ‘We don’t want Colin Kaepernick as a part of this league or a part of the NFL.'”
“It’s like a theater, it’s like a movie,” said Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, who played two seasons for the Raiders during an 11-year NFL career, “written, directed, scripted and produced by the NFL. It’s a PR stunt. It seems disingenuous.”
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