One of the most popular subjects of mocking memes in the NFL is Colin Kaepernick, and the latest one making fun of his inability to find open players, coming next to all the rumors about the San Francisco 49ers benching him, is probably the cruelest of them all.
Kaepernick getting benched for Blaine Gabbert, if it’s actually going to happen, is a low point for his career – a painful rock bottom. Quarterbacks, better than Kaepernick, have been able to recover from getting benched at some point during their careers, but who knows if Kaepernick is good enough to bounce back from this.
In a way I do feel a little bit sorry for the guy. He was propelled into a franchise quarterback position and label based on a very limited set of skills that only worked with a specific offensive line and power running style. The moment all of that started to deteriorate, while Jim Harbaugh got closer and closer to leaving (eventually getting fired/quitting and going to Michigan where he’s very happy), Kaepernick was exposed as an athletic quarterback who can only make a very limited number of throws, and is terrible at reading a developing play.
In short, he targets on one guy early on, and it’s hard for him to look anywhere else during the short number of seconds he has to avoid a sack. Something you’d like your quarterback to be able to do. And so Kaepernick’s biggest road bump of his career has come in the form of a franchise going clueless and turning to f’ing Blaine Gabbert to fix an offense that can’t put points on the board. It’s not entirely Kaepernick’s fault, but when you think of how he was overhyped, overrated and acted at certain moments in which humility could have been a better way out, it’s hard to actually feel he didn’t have this coming.
For a bit more on the world of Colin Kaepernick memes, check out these from an epic meltdown in 2014 against the Bears, or for more recent woes, check out the reaction to his performance (and his team’s) against the Green Bay Packers, which needless to say ended in a loss.