"I just wish he had adopted this stance years ago" - Shannon Sharpe laments timing of Colin Kaepernick's return

Colin Kaepernick recently made the news upon revealing that he would be satisfied being a backup quarterback. Speaking on Undisputed, Shannon Sharpe wished the quarterback had changed his tune several years ago. Sharpe said:

"I think the biggest thing is that he's realizing that time is running out. He's about to be 35 years of age. I just wish he had adopted this stance four or five, six years ago, Skip. But I think he's coming to the realization. He says, 'Well, I'm willing to take a minimum salary, I'm willing to take a backup role.' I believe those were going to be his only options if an option was granted to him."

Sharpe said that the NFL is not to blame; the quarterback will have to convince one of the 32 owners to offer him an opportunity:

"But at the end of the day, he said that the NFL has these slogans...end racism and things like that. This is not a league issue. You're going to have to convince one of these 32 owners to give you an opportunity, like Jimmy and Dee Haslem [were] willing to take the blowback that comes along with [signing] Deshaun Watson."

Sharpe added that the quarterback's return would set off an outcry from a section of the fanbase:

"When you sign Colin Kaepernick, one of the owners is going to have to be willing to take the blowback because he is the face of the kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, even though there's nothing else going on at that time. He is the face of that. And so that's going to dredge up some memories and some fans, and some of the fanbases are going to be upset with it."

The co-host of Undisputed noted that it would take an owner with a positive mindset to power through the backlash until Kaepernick sees the field:

"And the ownership, they're going to have to say, 'You know what, we believe the blowback that we're receiving...we believe that guy's talent is so supreme, that we're willing to roll the dice and say: okay, we know this is only going to be temporary before he gets on the field and quiet some of this criticism.'"

How long has Colin Kaepernick been out of the NFL?

San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams

The quarterback's final season in the NFL was in 2016. At the start of the year, he was the first in a trend of players kneeling during the national anthem, which drew an outcry from seemingly half the country. He followed that up by going 1-10 in 11 starts that season with the San Francisco 49ers. If the quarterback misses 2022, he will have missed six full seasons.

Interestingly, according to Pro Football Reference, Kaepernick's win-loss for his career is just one loss behind Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield is 29-30, while Kaepernick is 28-30.