Maybe I'm being overly generous, but I suspect the glare of the spotlight pushed him to action beyond the temper tantrum, and he's now genuinely invested in putting meat on the bones of his advocacy. Charity and advocacy can be their own reward, so it wouldn't be hard to believe that it's much more than image rehab at this point.

I think the sun has set on his playing career, but primarily because of what he does, and doesn't do, between the lines.

---

The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

 
It is image rehab. There are plenty of shitty QB's getting paid ridiculous sums of money these days. He could easily be one of those bench riding shitty QB's for many more years, except for the fact that he is an insufferable douche and a PR nightmare.
This is no different than him changing his stance from kneeling to standing for the anthem. He is pulling a 180 to try to make more money, just like any good dbag would after a reality check.

It may well be self serving damage control, but I think he believes in the causes he's supporting. MOW is undoubtedly a direct response to Trump's barbs (even so, well played). But he, like RG3, will find himself unemployed sooner than later because he's not a plug-and-play backup like Colt McCoy, Fitzpatrick, Gradkowski, et al. If the system isn't designed for their limited skill set, and they're not good enough to build around, they're nothing but a liability.

---

The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

 
He is not a good backup, but he could keep a job as a number 3 if not for his off field antics. Hell the cowboys just signed Kellen Moore to another contract and he has never been any good, and has next to nothing in NFL play time. If CK hadn't been such an arrogant idiot early in his career, he could have ridden the pine in 3rd position for another decade.

I'm glad he's taking action. I just wish it was before all the scrutiny he received for kneeling during the national anthem.

If you read through the thread (I don't recommend it) you'll see I was highly critical of him, for multiple reasons.

He reminds me of a college kid who gets spun up on social justice issues without having the historical background squared away in context. I think he's going through the same process many young people do, who feel obligated by position or ethnic pressures, except he's doing it in the public spotlight.

I can't fault him for rethinking his approach to protest, and taking a knee rather than sitting. It shows respect while maintaining a protest position. He's made his point, drawn the media's attention, and is now going about putting his money and time where his mouth was.

There's hope for everyone. I'll presume his good intentions until proven otherwise, his ahistorical missteps notwithstanding.

---

The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

He might make a good backup. But he is in pretty much the same situation as Manziel and probably Tebow. They are not a top 20 QB. They are probably around a top 50 QB talentless. But they are a major pain in the ass either because they are drunks or bring to much attention to themselves.

If I am an owner, why would I ever even think of bringing them in? There are others as good as them available who won't cause problems. When guys are good you can put up with a lot of antics. But when they are meh?

---

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Completely agree. He lacks the talent to get away with his off field antics. If he had kept out of the limelight he could have made a good amount of money over the next decade, instead I think his days in the NFL are over.

I agree. Denver Broncos have a player Brandon Marshall (not the receiver) who started taking a knee after Kaepernick did. He also started meeting with leaders in the community, Denver PD, and donating his time and money.

Beyond Colin Kaepernick what surprised me about this entire incident was how liberal sports writers as a group had become. Most of the people I listened to couldn't even articulate logical objections CK's behavior -- so, of course, they acted like logical objections didn't exist.

I found listening to the usually vanilla Mike and Mike the most unexpected. They basically agreed with what CK was doing, and, as the cherry on top, we got to see Greenberg do his "I'm just a dumb white person" shtick just like he does his "I'm just an idiot man or idiot husband" shtick. Those shticks are fine for humorously dealing with his foibles with his wife or why he's a bad athlete or a clutz or whatever. Race relations are another matter. It was just distasteful.

Another thing I found concerning was on one of those sport shows -- I forget which now -- they asked CK if he saw any positive results from his protests. He said, yes, he did see positive results. He cited kids in high school also taking a knee during their sports contests to protest. Really? That's the positive result? Great! The irony totally went over the head of the host.