Eric Mangini spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers. All three years included Colin Kaepernick acting as the team’s starting quarterback. Needless to say, Mangini knows a little bit about what the free agent can bring to the table.
Also important to note here, Mangini spent two years as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach. Despite his less-than-stellar 10-22 mark during that span, he also knows a little bit about what is going on with the Browns.
In talking about both his former quarterback and the team he was once tasked with leading, Mangini himself had a rather interesting take.
“I think as the market settles and people start looking at these young quarterbacks they brought in and start evaluating the quarterback situation, they might realize it may not look as good as they hoped it would be,” Mangini said, via Pro Football Talk. “I always thought he would be a good fit for the Browns. Hue [Jackson’s] system is multiple shifts and motions, and that’s what he did in San Francisco. Hue has an element of quarterback-driven runs, I think Colin is excellent as that. As a candidate, him vs. RGIII a year ago, I’d take Colin 10 times out of 10.”
Both Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III remain unemployed. Though, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated recently that his team has interest in both of them. It led to a meeting between Seattle and Kaepernick earlier in the week.
Coming off a 2016 campaign that saw him tally 18 total touchdowns compared to four interceptions, it is a surprise that Kaepernick remains unsigned. Then again, an argument could be made that his status as a free agent is largely due to the National Anthem protest the quarterback started last year.
As it relates to the Cleveland as a potential destination, the team pretty much threw that out the window as a possibility earlier in the spring. That’s only been magnified more recently after the Browns selected quarterback DeShone Kizer in the second-round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Mangini might think Cleveland is a good fit, but there doesn’t seem to be any room on the team’s roster for Kaepernick.