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Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, a well-known proponent of social justice, hasn’t been one to mince words when it comes to his support for Colin Kaepernick. He once called NFL owners “cowards” for not signing the free agent quarterback.
During the Eagles’ locker room availability on Wednesday, Jenkins stood up for Kaepernick once again ... while taking a shot at Philadelphia’s Week 8 opponent in the process.
In discussing the difference between the fight against systemic oppression and the NFL’s blackballing of Colin Kaepernick, Malcolm Jenkins says, “I can turn on the tape this week of our opponent and see that Colin Kaepernick deserves a job.”
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) October 24, 2018
Jenkins is obviously referring to Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles, who was benched during Jacksonville’s Week 7 loss to the Houston Texans.
Jenkins’ assessment isn’t wrong; Bortles is bad. His 80.3 passer rating ranks 28th out of 33 qualified starting quarterbacks this season. It’s not hard to believe that Kaepernick could be better than him, or at least some of these other quarterbacks in the league.
But while he’s not being dishonest, I don’t know that Jenkins really needed to give the Jaguars any bulletin board material this week. For as bad as Bortles has been recently, he’s historically played well in London games. In his last three United Kingdom games, Bortles has thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception. The Jaguars are 3-0 in those matchups with an average of 36.0 points per game.
I like Jenkins and all, and it’s not like his main point was to take a shot, but maybe the 3-4 Eagles shouldn’t be talking trash.
Watch Jenkins’ full answer below:
Malcolm Jenkins on his focus as Players Coalition leader, and some evidence right in front on him that Colin Kaepenick deserves a job. pic.twitter.com/xrcy27ZCfL
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) October 24, 2018