Why should Kaepernick have to “help himself”? Do other QBs seeking jobs make statements or give interviews? Why the double standard? He has a more than adequate track record of play in the NFL, play that for the most part has been longer and better than that any backup QB with a job can claim, why isn’t that enough?
And does anyone seriously think it would make any difference if he did give an interview? Are owners going to say, oh, he’s a great guy, I never knew that before, I guess I don’t care about the pledge to the flag any more, let’s hire him? Sort of like Pete Carroll, who as a coach had to game plan against Kaepernick more than half a dozen times, suddenly discovering, on the basis of one tryout, that he was actually too good to be a backup? When everyone passing on Kaepernick is rationalizing his decision with chickensh!t excuses, what would be the point in his making any effort to talk to anyone?
I also think the notion that he’s a poor fit for most teams because he isn’t a classic pocket passer is another weak excuse. Michael Vick, who did far, far worse than not standing for the flag, was not a pocket passer, and he got another chance. Kaepernick is not at his best in a classic offense, but he’s still better at that than many of the guys who have actually been hired as backups. Put him into a system designed around whoever the starter is, and he will be adequate. I don’t recall Harbaugh’s being concerned that Kaepernick couldn’t back up Alex Smith. On the contrary, when Kaepernick got his first start after Smith went down with concussion, Harbaugh didn’t treat him gently with a lot of running plays, he had him throwing downfield from the get-go. And when Kaep became established as the starter, there was no problem with Smith backing him up. When Smith was traded, the team acquired other backups who didn’t have Kaep’s particular skill set.
What Kaepernick needs to succeed are a couple of very good receivers. When both Crabtree and Davis were healthy, he was great with the 49ers. When one of them was out, he struggled. He isn’t good at progressions, that’s been well documented, and then he panics and starts running. But when he has a couple of good receivers who he can count on, he’s reasonably comfortable in the pocket and thrives.
The bottom line is we all know that if Kaepernick hadn’t protested by sitting at the pledge before games, he would have offers as a backup, and no one would be talking about his deficiencies as a pocket passer. All backup QBs have deficiencies, that’s why they’re backups. You can make the comparison to RGIII, but he never played well after his rookie season, and constantly got injured from running. And in fact, RGIII did get a job at Cleveland, at a time when his track record and future prognosis were quite a bit worse than what Kaepernick’s are now.