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Panthers safety Eric Reid suggests Colin Kaepernick if Cam Newton is badly injured
If the Carolina Panthers did lose franchise quarterback Cam Newton for a while and want to get in touch with Colin Kaepernick, their safety probably has Kaepernick’s number.
Newton hurt his foot in Thursday night’s preseason game and left in a walking boot. Eric Reid, who kneeled during the national anthem with Kaepernick while they were teammates on the San Francisco 49ers, had a suggestion for the Panthers if Newton has to miss time — and Reid emphasized “if,” considering details on Newton’s injury are scarce — and it was bringing his friend back to the NFL.
Eric Reid says IF Cam is hurt badly, Kaepernick could and should definitely “come in and help us.” Again, he stressed the IF and said he hoped Cam was fine.
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) August 23, 2019
That would make some headlines.
Would Panthers entertain Colin Kaepernick possibility?
As Reid said, before going any further, there has been no concrete news on Newton’s injury. Against the Patriots, Newton was scrambling around and was sacked. He limped off the field, trainers checked his foot and he left in a walking boot. That’s rarely a good sign, but some teams use walking boots on somewhat minor injuries to be overly safe. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he had no details on the injury.
The Kaepernick possibility is intriguing. New Panthers owner David Tepper signed Reid last season, though Reid was part of the movement to bring awareness to social justice and racial inequality issues. Tepper signed Reid at a time in which it appeared he was being blackballed. Reid and Kaepernick settled a collusion case against the NFL in February. Kaepernick has not played since the end of the 2016 season, despite having a solid year on a bad 49ers team.
Kaepernick apparently hasn’t given up his dream of being in the NFL again. He posted a workout video earlier this month, with the caption “still ready.”
Kaepernick might fit Panthers
It’s still too early to really speculate on the Kaepernick-Panthers possibility, considering nobody knows if Newton will be fine for Week 1. But it might make some sense.
Kaepernick isn’t the same quarterback as Newton, but the Panthers have designed plays to feature Newton’s running ability and that has always been a strength for Kaepernick. Even a short-term gig for Kaepernick could open other doors. He hasn’t gotten a shot as teams have signed countless quarterbacks with much thinner resumes. Kaepernick is 31 years old.
Kaepernick hasn’t played in a couple years and was up-and-down his last few seasons with the 49ers, so it’s no guarantee he’d be better than Panthers rookie Will Grier, though Grier hasn’t stood out in the preseason. We also have no way of knowing if Kaepernick would be interested in joining the Panthers.
Maybe, if Newton is slated to miss some time, the Panthers would consider the possibility of signing Kaepernick. That would be interesting.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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