When former NFL star quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to inspire anti-American protests across the league, it’s unlikely he saw this coming.
No one will hire him. Not even as a third-string quarterback. And he’s not happy about it.
Desperate to get back in the league (and to cashing multi-million dollar paychecks), Kaepernick vowed to stop disrespecting veterans and salute the flag.
And the promise looked like it worked. Reports have surfaced that Kaepernick was on the brink of being signed — and after a string of high-profile quarterback injuries, his agent gleefully predicted on Nov. 1 that Kaepernick would likely be signed “in the next 10 days.”
Wednesday, Kaepernick got some very bad news.
His promise to respect our flag was too little, too late.
The struggling Houston Texans have signed a new backup quarterback — and it was someone who hasn’t thrown a football in four years.
The team announced Wednesday they’ve signed free agent quarterback Josh Johnson and released Matt McGloin, a day after coach Bill O’Brien said they had discussed the possibility of adding Kaepernick in the wake of a season-ending knee injury to rookie Deshaun Watson.
Instead of adding Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who began the protest movement by kneeling during the national anthem last season, Houston chose Johnson to be its third quarterback.
The 31-year-old Johnson has been with the Giants, Bills, Colts and 49ers over the past three seasons, but hasn’t appeared in a game since he played two for the Bengals in 2013.
He spent his first four seasons with Tampa Bay where he appeared in 26 games from 2008-11.
McGloin was signed on Friday to be Houston’s third quarterback behind Tom Savage and T.J. Yates, but was inactive on Sunday.
Kaepernick remains unemployed.
The Associated Press contributed to this article