It was a crap season for the 49ers. A 2-14 season buys them nothing but the 2nd pick in the NFL Draft and yet another turbulent offseason after firing the head coach and the GM who hired him and put together a team that shit all over the proud 49ers legacy. Whoever the new coach is, he will have a tough time rebuilding this team to a respectable franchise.
What's also likely is the next coach won't have Colin Kaepernick either as he will be a free agent after proving he still belongs in a league where guys named Tom Savage, Matt Moore, and Case Keenum were starting on Sunday afternoons. Kaepernick is a seriously flawed quarterback, but is he the worst signal-caller in the NFL? Not even close, and as the winner of the 49ers Len Eshmont Award, he may have lost the respect of his many critics, but not of the guys in the locker room.
Outside of the 49ers locker room, former players like Joe Theismann blasted the team for selecting Kaepernick for the award, but what Theismann should know and has forgotten is that he is outside of the locker room. Thesimann doesn't have any idea on how Kaepernick's teammates feel about him. Old ex-jocks never run out of things to say about younger players. Theismann should mind his own damn business and go back to supporting his former team's racist nickname some more.
What's also likely is the next coach won't have Colin Kaepernick either as he will be a free agent after proving he still belongs in a league where guys named Tom Savage, Matt Moore, and Case Keenum were starting on Sunday afternoons. Kaepernick is a seriously flawed quarterback, but is he the worst signal-caller in the NFL? Not even close, and as the winner of the 49ers Len Eshmont Award, he may have lost the respect of his many critics, but not of the guys in the locker room.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In a season filled with controversy surrounding San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protest of racial inequality in the United States, Kaepernick apparently inspired many of his teammates.
When the 49ers announced their team awards Friday afternoon, Kaepernick was the recipient of the Len Eshmont Award, given to the 49er who "best exemplifies the inspirational and courageous play of Len Eshmont, an original member of the 1946 49ers team." The award, which was established after Eshmont died in 1957, is considered the most prestigious honor the players vote on.
After sitting down for the national anthem before a preseason game, Kaepernick has knelt during the anthem for the entire season. He has been joined most of the time by safety Eric Reid and outside linebacker Eli Harold. Kaepernick took over the starting quarterback job in Week 6 against Buffalo and has remained in that position since.
After Kaepernick's protest first became public knowledge in the preseason, the 49ers had a players-only meeting in which Kaepernick welcomed his teammates to ask questions about his reasons for the protest.
Center Daniel Kilgore said at the time that he initially didn't understand why Kaepernick chose to voice his opinion during the anthem, but he came out of that meeting with a different perspective.
"After Kap stated his case today, and seeing where he is coming from, I do stand with Kap when he says 'enough is enough' against crime and the violence and discrimination and racism," Kilgore said in August. "I believe that enough is enough. But I could see why people would think it's bad with the national anthem and the military."
Outside of the 49ers locker room, former players like Joe Theismann blasted the team for selecting Kaepernick for the award, but what Theismann should know and has forgotten is that he is outside of the locker room. Thesimann doesn't have any idea on how Kaepernick's teammates feel about him. Old ex-jocks never run out of things to say about younger players. Theismann should mind his own damn business and go back to supporting his former team's racist nickname some more.