Redskins 'discussed' Colin Kaepernick but he's not an option despite Mark Sanchez as QB, Reuben Foster claim

If you wanted final proof that Colin Kaepernick is not going to get another shot in the NFL, the Redskins probably just gave it to you. Despite sitting at 6-6 and grasping for air as they sink into the deep end of the playoff race after losing their second quarterback to a broken leg, the Redskins are not interested in signing the former standout quarterback.

Washington is in dire straights right now, having lost first Alex Smith to a broken leg and then Colt McCoy -- also to a broken leg -- on Monday night. The result is starting Mark Sanchez, who looked OK (kind of?) against the Eagles despite signing with the Redskins just a few days prior. 

Asked about Kaepernick, Gruden said the team talked about him but is going in a "different direction." 

Now, there are several reasons why people are upset/curious/enraged over the Redskins not considering Kaepernick.

For starters, people believe that Washington owner Dan Snyder -- a man not often viewed favorably by the media or fans -- is a supporter of President Donald Trump and therefore unwilling to sign Kaepernick because of the friction between the President and the former 49ers quarterback. Trump has repeatedly called out Kaepernick and publicly criticized him. Kaepernick, who currently is involved in a collusion case against the NFL, wanted to subpoena Trump in that very case. 

Secondly, the Redskins are going to be moving forward with Sanchez (stream Giants-Redskins and all of Sunday's games on fuboTV, try it for free, and stream the CBS games on CBS All Access). Any argument that involves Kaepernick needing to know the offense and learn the playbook and not diving in right away is sort of moot, because Sanchez was just signed himself. The list of guys the Redskins worked out -- Sanchez, T.J. Yates, Josh Johnson, EJ Manuel, Kellen Clemens -- are good backups in the NFL, but not world beaters. If Jay Gruden was truly desperate to win, he'd bust out the option offense with Kaepernick, presuming the quarterback is in shape to play anyway. (He might not be! We don't know.)

Finally, there's the matter of Reuben Foster. Foster was cut by the 49ers a few weeks back after he was arrested for domestic violence in the team hotel prior to a game in Tampa Bay. It was his second incident with the same woman; charges from the previous incident were dropped after the woman testified that she made up the whole situation. Foster was expected to clear waivers ... but the Redskins claimed him. It set off plenty of outrage and there are still plenty of NFL teams wondering why Washington would make the move when there are legal issues pending for Foster. 

Doug Williams came forward with a foot-meet-mouth statement about "taking a beating" in terms of PR for claiming Foster and Foster maybe never playing for the Redskins, which only made matters worse. 

So people want to know why Washington, a team on the verge of making the playoffs, wouldn't exercise every possible opportunity to sign a quarterback who could potentially help them when they're willing to claim a guy who won't be able to help them (he can't play right now) with possible legal charges pending.

It's a fair question. People want answers. 

Unfortunately for the Redskins, there really isn't one. They're just going to try and plug along with Sanchez and whatever warm bodies wash up on the shore. It might mean losing out and finishing the season 6-10. 

There's no guarantee Kaepernick would get them in the playoffs or that he would be able to win the division for them. He might be just as bad as Sanchez. 

But the idea of not even giving him a shot? It's a weird affront to the basic principle of the NFL, one of which the Redskins seem perfectly willing to follow most of the time: try to win at any cost.