Seahawk DT Michael Bennett said Tuesday he wishes the team had signed Colin Kaepernick.
Defensive lineman Michael Bennett said he wished the Seahawks had signed free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and that Kaepernick “thought it was going to happen’’ and was shocked when they instead signed Austin Davis.
Bennett made the comments during a lengthy interview on The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1 Tuesday morning.
He has publicly supported Kaepernick and his political stances since Kaepernick first sat and then kneeled during the national anthem last fall and posted a picture of himself with Kaepernick on Monday. Bennett said he thought the former 49ers QB “would be a good player on our team. I wish we would have signed with us, because we would have had a good backup quarterback after (starter) Russell Wilson. I love sacking (Kaepernick), but it would be cool to be on the same team with him.’’
Kaepernick and Davis visited the Seahawks in late May before Seattle signed Davis, who has 10 NFL starts, most with the Rams in 2014 and has not played in a game since 2015.
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Though some have wondered about the seriousness of Seattle’s interest in Kaepernick, Bennett said, “I think it was real. I talked to him. He thought it was going to happen.’’
Bennett said the team not signing Kaepernick was “really one of those shocking things.”
Last week, coach Pete Carroll said the Seahawks were not signing Kaepernick, calling him “a great kid” who “presented himself well” during his visit.
Carroll called Kaepernick “a starter in this league” and added, “we have a starter.”
Bennett also said he thinks Kaepernick is being blackballed by the NFL due to his political stances.
“Of course he’s being blackballed,’’ Bennett said. “Nobody likes race and politics in sports. That’s one of those things nobody wants to talk about, and for him to bring race and politics in sports it struck a lot of people the wrong way.’’
Bennett noted that “the people who buy tickets to the game aren’t really African-American’’ and that those who do buy the tickets “just want this issue’’ to go away.
Bennett also addressed a recent ESPN story that portrayed a divide between the offense and defense and that some players feel the organization does not hold Wilson as accountable as others.
Bennett said he has not sensed any division adding, “I think everybody rolled with everybody’’ and that “the media is supposed to find a story.’’ Bennett said teams can’t afford to be divided “when you play football because it’s so dangerous.’’
As for how the coaching staff handles Wilson, Bennett said, “Every coach coddles the quarterback. The quarterback is somebody who has to be coddled a little bit, because they walk around with a lot of pressure on their backs. … That’s just life.’’